The Dear Leader is speaking now...

The Dear Leader

...so there isn't much happening. (10:22 AM) The suits with wires in their ears and unidentified black uniformed men with automatic weapons as well as the local cops have all us peons on lock down. So I am just twiddling my thumbs waiting for the Dear Leader to finish his speech and go home. Hope & change mofo!

Business Insider: "Detroit dominates as the auto industry roars back to life"

"Detroit Industry" by Diego Rivera 1933

This is good news if it's true. [Link] It's hard for me to get too jazzed about the American automobile companies any more given that during their 2009 bail-out GM killed off its most exiting brands and Chrysler became subsidiary of the Italian-based Fiat.

Pediatricians recomend no TV or Internet viewing for kids under 2-years old

Good advice. (NY Times via Slashdot)

Small measure of justice for Hutaree Militia defendant

The US Attorney's office in Detroit has decided to drop one firearm-related charge against Hutaree Militia conspiracy defendant David Brian Stone, Jr.

Good news for Mr. Stone of course but the underlying fact is that some 18 months have passed since the Lennawee county rifle club's cum terror plotters dramatic arrests and the accompanying propaganda campaign, media circus & photo-op without ever being brought to trial. So now, even if totally exonerated by a jury, they will have been incarcerated for at least two years by the time their trials even begin.

God bless America.

Obama's Labor Day speech in Detroit

Well here's Obama at a dreary and cool Motown Labor Day 2011 gathering doing what he does best; giving a speech. And if all of our problems could be solved by reading off the teleprompter we'd be a utopia by now. Obama is gonna need to do a lot more than just orate. Obama's hangers-on, sycophants, handlers, fan-boys, and ass kissers did the man no favor in 2008 when they convinced Obama that his silver tongued oratorical skills would be enough. They are not, not nearly. And which makes the current to-do about his "major speech" on employment policy before a joint session of Congress later this week seem like laughably small potatoes. If only giving another speech would do the trick. But like the one-trick pony he is that's all he knows to do.

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Do Celebrities Help or Hinder When They Hijack Serious Issues? - Newsweek

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Ex-University of Michigan president Lee Bollinger is a statist asshole - Wall Street Journal

Some in Ann Arbor were sad when Lee quit the U of M for Columbia. Me, I couldn't have been happier. And now the statist thug has written a muddle-headed op-ed advocating that the US gov start subsidizing newspapers, websites, and other media outlets. And as we all know by now, who pays the piper calls the tune. Isn't the mainstream corporate media enough of an outlet for the ruling classes Lee? Do we have to pay for them with tax money too? And who is gonna read or watch that dreck any way? Ever been to a government website?

Why does every middle-aged woman think HER holiday seducer is the real deal? - Daily Mail

A different take on sex tourism. (via Althouse)
How astro-turf organizations put together flash-mobs for their demonstrations - Megan McArdle
They hire unemployed temps for minimum wage and give them signs, t-shirts and scripted slogans to chant for the news cameras. Sheesh. What would Marx say? I know what Lenin would say. Heh.

NY passes law to destroy "stop & frisk" police info if the friskees aren't arrested - NY Times

Go outside for a smoke at this Michigan hospital and they may deem it a " a voluntary discharge" - WUOM radio

Allegiance Health Center (nee Foote Hospital) in Jackson, MI. It is sad to see those folks in hospital gowns and IV rigs standing outside the hospital on Michigan Avenue huffing on cancer sticks, but this kinda lacks compassion. But still...it kinda is a waste of resources to treat them if they get to continue on with their addictions too.

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Michigan's gift to Texas - Detroit News
"The IRS data can actually be broken down by county. The gross outflow from Michigan's three biggest counties to Texas appears to have increased dramatically. For example, the number of people moving from Macomb County to Texas increased from approximately 200 between 2003 and 2004 to 748 between 2007 and 2008, a 274 percent difference. Their most frequent destination was the Dallas/Fort Worth area. For people from Oakland and Wayne Counties, the Texas county of Harris, which includes Houston, was the most popular." (emphasis added)

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Craig Venter and mad science - Bloggingheads.tv (video)
More funny (but heartbreaking) propaganda art from North Korea - io9
DARPA’s Beady-Eyed Cameras Aim to Spot the "Non-Cooperative" Amongst Us - Wired

Sign of the Times...

Ann Arbor.com has a pretty good list of the items seized from the Hutaree Militia arrestees. Taking firearms, ammunition, knives, swords and other obvious weapons I can see. Illegal items like drugs I can see too. But what about all this other stuff? Like books about Nazis and Hitler. Computers, cameras, uniforms, books about military subjects. None of that stuff is illegal by the way. So why is it noted? Why was it seized? In order to parade it all out in front of the media in order to scare and alarm and prejudice the public who will ultimately be the jury for these defendants is my hunch.

Think I'm blowing smoke here? Okay dear reader, consider this mind experiment. Think about your own home. How would you like it if federal agents and cops went through all of your drawers, garage, basement, attic and storage areas and seized for public display all of your DVDs, video tapes, books. magazines, private photos, computer hard-drives and printed out a list of every website you've ever visited?

And so-called "bomb making materials"? I'll bet a reasonably bright individual could build a simple bomb out of ordinary and typical household items commonly found in everybody's kitchen or garage. Could we cobble all that stuff together and say you had "bomb-making materials" in your house? Yes indeed. Do you have a gun or knife? Who did you plan to kill with it? See what I mean? This whole thing is BS. The gov should save these displays for presentation in a court of law where the defendant's legal counsel is present to give it some context. But don't bet on it.

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The Hutaree Militia wanted to "take over" three Michigan counties and force the Feds to start a war to remove them. No kidding, this what the US attorney said in court yesterday according to reports on AnnArbor.com. That is militarily take over three Michigan counties. With just nine core members. Nine. The more this story plays out the more ridiculous the state's case seems. I think the Obama justice department needed a scape-goat and these goofs fit the bill. This fubar militia group don't look capable of taking over their home base of Clayton, Michigan (pop. 303) let alone Hillsdale, Lenawee, and Washtenaw counties.

What really happened is that this fubar commando club went out in the woods shot off their rifles and then shot their mouths off later over beers. Too bad for them that they had a FBI snitch recording all this loud empty "seditious" talk. That's what really happened here IMO. And as for the cop murder & funeral ambush plans? Well, nearby Jackson had a cop funeral just a few weeks ago, remember? If the Hutaree truly wanted to go that route why didn't they bomb that funeral?

What it really comes down to in my opinion is that these goofs shot their mouths off to the wrong people, (an FBI snitch), had "enemies" (I.e.- ex-wives, rival militias, et. al.) who were ready willing and able to rat 'em out, and they happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time politically (Leviathan needed a scape-goat for propaganda purposes.) And so, too bad for the Hutaree. That perfect storm of circumstances may yet result in some lengthy prison time.