Pot-shots

>>>The Ann Arbor Chronicle's Mary Morgan tells us what it is like to live a car-less lifestyle in this town. She does own a Honda Ruckus scooter though. I've often contemplated getting rid my mini-van and getting a scooter too. Kinda impractical if you have kids, dogs, and such though.

>>>I'll bet the problems in Syria right now would be resolving themselves a whole lot differently than they are now if the people there were armed. If they were better armed the rebels wishing to overthrow the Assad family dictatorship would still be taking the brunt of higher casualties and the suffering would still be horrendous, but successful uprisings tend to go that way, at first anyhow. Eventually though, if the resistance is competent and the people are dedicated, the rebels usually win. Bottom line: My druthers would be for America to stick with having an armed civilian population even with the associated carnage that this sometimes entails.

>>>Quicken Loans the Detroit-based national mortgage company has pulled its advertizing from Rush Limbaugh's radio program over his remarks calling a woman a slut because she wants other people to pay for her birth control prescriptions. Sheesh. Given his own history (three divorces and Rx drug abuse) Rush really isn't in any position to be calling other people out on their moral failings in my opinion. I don't want to pay for other people's meds either but that's a matter of politics not a moral judgement on their sex lives.

>>>You can conscript, kidnap, draft, enslave, or otherwise make unwilling blokes join your armed struggle group, but how do you make them serve? Well it depends. This academic working paper I happened on to at the Social Science Research Network website explores this issue. Sadly the author's affiliation and bio were not provided although I note that he has a McGill University email address listed. - "Can You Home Again? Desertion And Control of Hometowns in Civil Wars" by Theodore D. McLauchlin

>>>Ex-Michigander Ted Nugent endorsed ex-Michigander Mitt Romney in the Michigan primary election it seems. Sheesh. Nugent and Romney both moved on to greener pastures a while ago and so their Michigan bona fides are a little weak these days. More than a little actually.

Even in perenially broke Wayne county (Detroit) they piss away taxpayer money like it was water

Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano tried to give a $200K "severance package" to a personal aide moving across the hall to a another better paying county job. Go figure? The Wayne County Board of Commissioners says they're going to investigate this. Jeez I sure hope so.
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Face time with ex-Governor Jennifer Granholm @ $10 a pop

That's what the ad at the Ann Arbor Chronicle should read. I can't believe that the governor who presided over an unprecedented eight year long decline in living standards here in the Mitten State has enough nerve to try and sell a book detailing her "accomplishments". And I can't believe anyone would willingly pay her extra to have her sign their book after they buy it as well as the ticket to get in either. All the other authors visiting here give free readings and signings at area bookstores. Oh sure you may have to order and/or pay for tickets if seating is limited or it's a famous author who will likely draw a big crowd but that seems like it would hardly be the case with her. The egos these politicians have are just amazing and I don't mean that in a good way either.

Bars to ban Michigan lawmakers who voted to ban smoking in bars

Nice sentiments but ah...I doubt this action is gonna make a dime's worth of difference in the end, unfortunately.

An example of why term limits for the Michigan legislature are a good idea: Jeff Irwin

A lame political hack who spews treacly bromides and feel-good, simple-minded solutions and trash talks  the opposition. What a guy. Good thing Irwin's a first-termer who is in the minority party so his bullshit doesn't count for much. Thank god for term limits too, eh? Four more years and Irwin will be forced to go find a real job. Sheesh.

Reform: Michigan's Attorney-General needs to be "reformed" right out of a job

Ex-State senator, ex-appeals court judge, ex-US representative, and ex-candidate for everything and current Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette, is attempting to undermine the Michigan Medical Marihuana  Act passed by voters in 2008.

AG Schuette and his cats-paws want to "reform" the reform passed in 2008. This voter-passed law was intended to provide a legal path so people who needed or wanted to use cannabis could do so without having to fear a SWAT team crashing through their doors. AG Bill Schuette dislikes this law and wants to redo it so that the police and other LEO types (like him for example) can regulate who can have, distribute, and use cannabis. Well, screw him. Hey Bill! The people voted on this and you should respect that. But he doesn't.

Here's a reform we could use while we're at it. Let's abolish the office of AG as an independent executive office of Michigan state government and have it be a cabinet appointment of the governor's office. The grandstanding typical of state AG's  is mostly reckless and unproductive stuff designed to keep their name in the headlines with a view toward higher office. (Remember how AG's Kelly, Granholm, and Cox all used the AG office as a stepping-stone for higher office ambitions?) Let's reform AG Bill Schuette right out of a job and let him go back to being a right-wing gadfly rather than a free lance  political hack with the weight and authority of the state of Michigan behind him suing and arresting people based on his personal agenda.

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Don't go away mad Dillion. Just go away.

Accused duckling killer Dillon Pearce pleads guilty to charges (Ann Arbor.com)
Sociopathic asshole.

Abundance of recall attempts in the state leave officials questioning if there should be changes to the law (Flint Journal/MLive)

On so-called "white trash" and the American experience (Fred On Everything)
"They don't fear the law because they are used to jail. You might call them pathetic from a distance, but you wouldn't do it to their faces. Not more than once."

The tragic death of pro-surfer Andy Irons (Outside)
Jut like with Kurt Cobain and now Amy Winehouse, Andy Irons had both talent and a deep seated self-destructive urge.

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Pilot OK after home-built aircraft crashes in Napoleon Township (Jackson Citizen-Patriot/MLive)
Ultra-lights are dangerous fun.

New Michigan law to require ID registry for those buying some cold medicines (annarbor.com)
Takes effect January 1, 2012.

18 Term veteran US Rep. Dale Kildee to retire (Detroit News)
Look for his son to run for the seat. Politics is the family business for the Kildees.

Michigan senate likely to approve four year lifetime limit on cash welfare benefits (Lansing State Journal)
I hope the economy is better by then or there's gonna be hell to pay.

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Not yet but getting there

Feral cat population getting to be a problem in Jackson county (Jackson Citizen-Patriot/MLive)

Professional homophobe and ex-Asst AG Andrew Shirvell sure has a lot of gall (Neal Rubin, Det News)
Shirvell pestered, libeled, defamed, and harassed former UM student body president Christopher Armstrong so long and so relentlessly that it got him fired from his job, banned from the UM campus and sued in federal court. Now the tables have turned and Shirvell wants some privacy for himself. Go figure?

Michigan State Senator wants to legalize bigger more powerful firecrackers in time for July 4th (Lansing State-Journal)
Sen. Rick Jones, a Grand Ledge Republican thinks bigger and louder fireworks are okay. The cops, fire marshals and emergency room doctors aren't so sure.

Female "special operators" now accompanying males on combat missions in Iraq (Darlene Iskra, Battleland blog)
"The women are needed in order to complete the mission. The women help by calming the local women's fears, by guarding them so they cannot attack, and by respecting the local cultural norms with regard to the segregation of women and men. But the women warriors can also kick butt when required, now that they are properly trained." But they have to wear hijabs. Three steps forward one step back.

Ayn Rand briefly summarized in a few pithy sentences (Matt Yglesias/Julian Sanchez, Bloggingheads.tv)

Amazon.com and the People's Republic of California fight it out over internet sales tax issue (Declan McCullough, CNET News)

Copyright troll Righthaven fought to a standstill before the courts (David Kravets, Threat Level blog)
Serves them right the assholes.

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BATF director Ken Melson  about to resign over botched illegal gun sting op? (Terry Frieden, CNN)
I sure hope so. This prick Melson is getting off easy too. He ought to be indicted for allowing and then covering up this stoopid  politically-inspired alleged anti-gun smuggling sting op gone wrong (and is also rumored to be in cahoots with anti-gun groups) that has resulted in not a few deaths.

Asshole taunter of dying child still at it despite court order (Doug Guthrie, Detroit News)
Where do these people come from? And why do they end up in Michigan?

Some Taylor Swift pics from a recent concert at Detroit's Ford Field (Bryan Mitchell, Detroit Free Press)
Taylor Swift sure is a talented and attractive young woman.

Democrats say GOP needlessly rushing Michigan congressional redistricting plan that pits two Dem incumbents against each other (Kathy Barks Hoffman, Lansing State-Journal)
And if the Dems were in the majority the headline would be exactly the same only with the party names reversed. This "go team Red!/go team Blue!" crap from the mainstream media is so fuckin' predictable isn't it?

Kerry Bernero @ Ann Arbor Art Fair 2010

Lansing mayor's politically ambitious daughter cited for suspicion of impaired driving, charged with marijuana possession (Kevin Grasha, Lansing State-Journal)
"Kelly Bernero, the oldest of Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero’s two daughters, faces misdemeanor charges including impaired driving and possession of marijuana after being pulled over in East Lansing last week..". Whatever. She's 23 years old for cryin' out loud.  I'd still vote for her.

Since the late 1970s, 163 million female babies have been aborted by parents seeking sons (Jonathan V. Last, Wall Street Journal)
"Historically, societies in which men substantially outnumber women are not nice places to live". Demographics is destiny.

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An obvious political hack and a doctor-suing ambulance chaser likely to get nominations to federal court (Robert Snell, Detroit News)"[Likely judicial nominee Marietta Robinson] has given big donations to state and national Democratic candidates, particularly the three who will determine whether she becomes a federal judge. She has given $4,600 to Obama, $6,000 to Stabenow and $2,000 to Levin, according to the Center for Responsive Politics."

Jackson county district court judge James Justin recommended for dismissal for misconduct by the Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission  (Danielle Salisbury, MLive/Jackson Citizen-Patriot)
" '(Justin’s) deliberate and repeated decisions to circumvent the judicial process — many times to his own benefit — render him unfit to sit as a judge.' ” Justin dismissed traffic tickets issued to himself and his wife nine separate times. So much for "equal justice under law", eh? But I'd still like to keep elected judges instead of appointed ones. At least we can vote 'em out if need be.

 Profile of a Tom Henderson a respected Detroit-area business writer who moonlights as an author of true crime books (Sandra Svoboda, Detroit Metro-Times)
An interesting read.

Ann Arbor set to establish myriad laws, rules, and regulations for medical marijuana clinics (Dave Askins, Ann Arbor Chronicle)
This lengthy and cumbersome effort on the part of the city of Ann Arbor seems stupid, expensive, and pointless to me. Do they do all this micromanaging for wine shops, party and liquor stores?

Ann Althouse gains some insight on the topic of what constitutes "fairness" in union-dominated college towns like Madison, WI (Ann Althouse, Althouse blog)
"I don't see how the city can accept free-form sleeping on the street, with no group taking responsibility. Homeless and transient people are not allowed to sleep on the street, so I don't see how special immunity from the laws can be given to other sleepers based on their political opinions." Bottom line: Politically connected professional agitators have one standard. But the homeless, drunks, drifters, druggies, beggars, and kooks and such have another standard altogether.

Weblog - Michigan edition

Redistricting could mean trouble for Michigan Democratic Rep.s Carl Levin, Gary Peters (Alec Jacobs, Daily Caller)
"Elections have consequences. Especially in a redistricting year. And Michigan Democrats are learning that the hard way." Too bad they can't get rid of John Conyers or John Dingell instead.

Ann Arbor voters need to decide what they want and what their willing to pay for (Tony Dearing, annarbor.com/)
A decent editorial as far as it goes. The thing is, times have changed. We can't afford as many cops, firefighters and high-end manager/bureaucrats at $100k or more plus benefits without a lot more tax dollars coming in. We can't even afford the ones we have now in fact, hence the layoffs. Just like with the industrial unions city employee's gains come at the expense of their jobs. Fewer but still gold-plated cops, firefighters and managers or more employees with less pay & benefits. That's what it comes down to in my opinion.

Quitting Borders: Staffers flee the bankrupt bookseller  (Eve Silberman, Ann Arbor Observer)
"The common sentiment ... was that 'if you weren't looking for another job, you were crazy.' Another refugee says the company is so short-staffed it recently called and asked him to come back (he refused)." Indeed. Why wait for the last life raft? Get out while the gettin's good.

Christian missionaries take on Muslims, Catholics at Arab International Festival in Dearborn (Niraj Warikoo, Det Free Press)
Hey folks, "infidels" (i.e., everybody but Muslims) have free speech rights too. Welcome to America.

Taking back the park (Dylan Lawrence, Det Metro-Times)
Local activists tear down developer's illegal fence at the foot of the Ambassador Bridge that cuts through a neighbor hood public park. A little direct action is good. More is better.

Sign of the times...cont'd.

State appointed Emergency Financial Managers gain power under new law
"DPS spokesman Steve Wasko said, 'This decision comes 36 hours after the governor signed the new public act, giving all emergency managers throughout the state more clearly defined powers over operations. This allows us to continue to implement new academic plans and move forward with all the restructuring we have been working on, without the threat and distraction of legal action.' "

Bottom line: Democracy is way over rated anyhow. Especially in Detroit.

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Did seminal American economist Paul Samuelson recant his unqualified praise for free-trade before he died?
“Change does not come easily in academic life. For the most part we will have to await the gravedigger’s shovel. Guys in their fifties rarely admit that what they have been teaching all their lives is balderdash.”
Asthma: The Geography of Wheezing 
Do people living in rural areas have healthier immune systems because they're dirtier environments? Maybe.
Oakland county (Michigan) Democratic Party operatives indicted for attempted election scam
"Two former Oakland County Democratic Party workers face felony charges from a six-month grand jury investigation into allegations of election fraud."

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Kalamazoo cops can't seem to control middle-aged gang of street cruisers called the "X-train"
Three shooting deaths from their late-night drug-addled street cruising so far.
Why Michigan roads are crumbling, cratered, pothole-infested obstacle courses
We don't "invest" enough in road and infrastructure maintenance.
What is it about cyclists that can turn sane, law-abiding drivers into shrieking maniacs?
Very interesting even if it was written by a dedicated biker.

In re the DSO musicians strike: Detroit doesn't need a symphony orchestra. Let it go. Classical music venues abound in southeastern Michigan. Move on.

"Should it be lights out for Hollywood moviemakers in Michigan?" - MLive
I think so.

"[C]an a mediocre and forgettable flick come to be regarded as 'excellent' if it tells the chattering class exactly what it wants to hear and shows it just what it aches to see?": A more plebeian review of the Oscar nominated movie The King's Speech. I liked Winter's Bone and True Grit much better myself.

Michigan Governor tinkers with state parole board: As did former governors Engler and Granholm for all the good it did us. The key thing here IMHO is to quit imprisoning people for victimless crimes like drug offenses. Snyder's plan to put "professionals" in charge of parole decisions sounds like he's setting up a "plausible deniability defense" in advance of any fuck-ups made in reducing Michigan's inmate population from 51,500 to 44,000 in just 18 months.

The conventional demographic wisdom is that smart, young, college-educated types head for the coastal metropolis' while the older, high school-educated, blue-collar, post-industrial folks migrate south and west: But maybe not.

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EMU regent blows off meetings for nearly two years: No surprise that he's a Granholm appointee too. EMU and the other regional universities have long been a dumping ground for lame patronage appointees of the incumbent governor.

Michigan jail inmates often unable (or unwilling) to pay "incarceration fees" to county jails: What a surprise! If these lumpen had any money they'd not likely be in jail in the first place. As the ACLU guy quoted in this Freep news story says this is just a way to keep people tethered to the criminal justice bureaucracy.

Blogger has Bill O'Reilly pegged: "O’Reilly is a self-important middle manager.  If he sees you are 'above him' in stature, someone who makes him look good by being on the screen with him, he’s obsequious.  If he sees you as beneath him, then he expects deference."

History doesn't repeat but it often rhymes: "Yet just as the Soviet communist bosses held on to power to the point of their self-destruction, the American oligarchies will squeeze the U.S. economy to its death. Is President Obama’s failure to bring any change yet another indication that change in America will only follow catastrophe?" Probably, yes.

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Detroit's Mayor declares war on slumlords: But leave it to ex-city councilwoman Sheila Cockrell for some honesty and insight on the issue. To wit: "...the city controls more blighted properties than any other landowner." There it is.

"They are the enemy, and should be shot on sight.": Who? What?  Eurasian boars imported to hunting preserves have escaped and gone feral. The DNR is being urged to issue a "shoot on sight decree" to cull them down. Hmm... Maybe Detroit should adopt that policy toward its slumlords?

Winter's Bone: I saw the movie last night and it deserves serious consideration for an Oscar for best picture and best actor. A serious and unsentimental look at America's white rural underclass well written and superbly acted. I had a few quibbles with some the details, but then I always do. Go see it.

Battle looms over future of Michigan tax credit for low income workers: As usual, it's a party line thing. Dems for and Reps against.

Santelli Slams CNBC Panelists for Spinning Jobs Report: Good for him! We need some populist outrage on the unemployment issue. Although I'd describe Santelli as a "useful idiot" most of the time he's performing a real service exposing the kool-aid drinkers in the mainstream media who try to spin everything for Obama and the Democrats and their ineffectual employment policies.

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Dead on arrival

Michigan GOP apparatchik Saul Anuzis is rumored to be planning a run against Sen. Debbie Stabenow in 2012: Hmm. I don't see this going anywhere except as the official party-designated fall-guy (like those that run against Sen. Carl Levin) because no one else will do it.  Michigan has shown itself to be a very blue state in presidential election years and Sen. Stabenow is a proven vote getter with deep roots in mid-Michigan politics, too. The last GOP apparatchik (who actually won) was Spencer Abraham who won a senate seat in the GOP landslide of 1994. Come 2000 Stabenow unseated him easily and cruised to re-election in 2006. But who knows. (Daily Caller)

Ill-considered ideas from the University of Michigan's Law School’s Innocence Clinic: Michigan was the first English-speaking polity to officially banish the death penalty. Now a law student's group want to end life-in-prison-w/o-parole too. I oppose capital punishment but not LWOP. Get rid of that and watch the death penalty ballot proposals bloom like dandelions in the spring. One could easily win eventually. People rightly demand both justice and punishment. It's often hard to swallow paying for a murderer's upkeep often for decades but at least they're there for life. The victims survivor's and the general public is certain they're inside forever.  Unless a governor pardons them, a court grants a new trial (which is rare), or they die, they are never coming out. (Sure they can escape but that's not really the same kind of "freedom" as the other first three possibilities because the system never stops looking for you). Bad idea here. (Michigan Daily)

Michigan has a pot-hole problem! Reality check: Michigan has had shitty roads since the 1970's when then-Gov. Milliken cut road repair budgets by executive order. Then govenors afterward (of both parties) chose to build new roads rather than maintain what we already had. Apparently this amazing discovery of monster potholes is a news flash to the reporter who wrote this story. (AnnArbor.com)