I held back my judgment until I heard from the Mayor, because I believe in letting someone have their say, however he didn’t sway me and I think he has to go.
We had a President who drug us through a year’s hoopla over a sex scandal, that time we had a blue dress, this time we have lewd text messages. At the time the country was experiencing an economic boom and was in the middle of a break from history, a time of no troubles, so we saw this as an amusing soap opera with fun characters and an anti-climactic ending. This time, Detroit is in the middle of an attempt to come back by redeveloping the downtown, but has a long way to go. We don’t have the time to waste on this kind of scandal when Detroit is choking on itself.
In his speech Kwame did more than Bill Clinton ever did, he publicly apologized to the city and to his wife, who was sitting next to him. His wife then made a speech begging people to let them settle this matter privately. Whoever wrote this speech apparently is reading out of a book, when your husband is the mayor, and is sleeping with his Chief of Staff, then lies about it under oath, it is going to be a public scandal.
Like the Clinton matter I personally don’t care about his affair, or his marriage, I don’t waste my time on those concerns. I am concerned that the Mayor committed a felony when he lied under oath about the affair. This time we don’t have to worry about is this or is this not a “high crime or misdemeanor”, we have both the Wayne County Prosecutor and the Attorney General of Michigan who can determine that and prosecute Kwame. I would hope that a jury of his peers won’t be swayed by politics like the Senate was with Bill Clinton and convict him if the evidence is there.
In his speech tonight Kwame said that there is no chance of his resigning, saying he wouldn’t do that to the city. I implore him to look beyond himself and his selfish ambition. He is done; by staying he will only hurt the city with the continued distraction and with his inability to do his job effectively. He should resign, and let someone else take over the city. The city needs new leadership, for this is the last straw with Kwame, from sex scandals to SUV’s he can’t keep himself out of trouble. If he does not resign he will probably run for reelection, and if he wins next year, then Detroit will show that it is not serious about coming back from its current disastrous state, and just wants to keep the Hip-Hop Mayor around.
Resign Mr. Mayor, save us all the shame and distraction of your selfish and destructive behavior, this city has real problems, and we need serious people to solve them. You are no longer a viable person to solve the problems, and if you truly care about your city, and the metro area and state it anchors, you will resign.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
The Great American Road Trip
Being in politics I hear a lot about “flyover” country, and about red and blue states. From my perch in Macomb County, Michigan I occasionally buy into the concept. That we are a country deeply divided and a country that is incredibly different, so much so that we risk a cultural civil war if it isn’t solved.
It is easy to buy into that when one doesn’t experience the country, however over the course of the last week I have done something I haven’t done since 1998, I took a trip across the country in a car, not in a plane.
First let me say, as someone who calls himself a small-government conservative, the Interstate Freeway System is at the same time one of the best and one of the worst things that the federal government ever did. Good because I was able to drive from Detroit, MI to Los Angeles, CA in three 14 hour days. It was bad because, in the words of Charles Kuralt, “You are able to go across the entire country without seeing anything.”
To avoid cold weather and snow, so I thought, I took a more Southerly route to get there, following roughly the old US 66, or Route 66 as it is more popularly known. Particularly along I-40 Route 66 is still a big part of the country’s heritage, even though it was decommissioned in the 80’s. I took the trip because my friend of 15 years Charles Dewandeler decided to move to Hollywood to pursue his dream of being a director, and he wanted someone to go with him.
Now don’t get me wrong, Charles is one of my best friends, but the idea of him on the road was an odd one to me, because it is not an environment he is accustomed to. Eating at random places, meeting random people along the way, and staying at random places along the way. However he took to it well, until the last day, which I will get to later.
I wanted my friend to have a true road experience, so we made no hotel reservations, I had a route in mind, and we drove until we ran out of gas, ate, and kept going until around 10 PM each night, local time. We crossed a time zone a day this way, so we drove from 9AM-10PM on the clock, but more like 9AM-11PM, not a short day in a car, especially for me being 6’4”. The first day we made it halfway though Missouri, the second day halfway through New Mexico, and the last day all the way to LA. We stayed at the same hotel chain both nights, but only because I was so impressed with them the first night, when we randomly found it, I got lucky that it was also in the town where we made our second stop.
The route I planned took us down I-94, to I-69, to I-70, to I-44, to I-40, to I-15 into LA. From 44 to 15 we paralleled Route 66. This meant that we had an interesting variety of things to see and non-standard places to eat along the way. When the purpose of a road trip is to get somewhere fast, the places you stop to eat are the most important, for it is the only way to see anything.
The first day Charles ate before we left, and I grabbed Krispy Kremes from the gas station we stopped at to fill up before we left, but I insisted that we not stop at any fast food places, and places that I thought you needed to go on the road. The first day we ate at Huddle House for lunch, which to me looked like an old Waffle House with its name changed. It amused me because it had a big plastic horse outside of it. That night we ate at a local diner in Illinois, which to the best of my memory was called “Restaurant” on the outside, and I don’t remember if it had another name inside. It was at the Huddle House I first had Sweet Potato Fries, which were excellent.
The second day we ate at a truck stop Country Kitchen for lunch, and at a local Texas joint for dinner whose name escapes me, but we got the name on video. What made this place phenomenal was that it was done up to look like an old brothel turned restaurant and the waitresses were dressed, as Charles put it, in “Miss Kitty” outfits. For those who don’t get the reference he meant the Miss Kitty on the old western TV show Gunsmoke. They had the lace outfits with the frills, and cowboy boots, my particular favorite being the greeter who had spurs on her boots.
The last day we ate at a Cracker Barrel for lunch, in my opinion an essential on a road trip and at the Coffee Shop in Ludlow, CA for dinner, which we had a waiter that I swear to God looked like he was pregnant. It also had the greasiest food I have ever seen, my tuna salad sandwich tasted like it wasn’t on toasted bread, but bread dredged in oil. Charles had a grilled cheese sandwich, which I don’t think agreed with him all too well.
For breakfast each day we ate at our hotel, the Drury Inn and Suites, which is now my new favorite hotel chain, for not only does it have free internet, but a free hot breakfast, featuring eggs, sausage patties, biscuits and gravy, and in the one in Springfield, MO, a do-it-yourself waffle maker. Needless to say this Waffle House fan was placated not going there by making my own waffle for breakfast.
I have always loved the road trip, because it is in my opinion to best way to appreciate the beauty and vastness of the country. Flying doesn’t give you the right perspective, driving does. I hoped to pass that impression onto my friend, however considering he got sick as soon as we got to LA, he probably doesn’t want to do it again. It shows me that I can’t expect everyone to take to things like I do, to have the ability to so dramatically change my normal habits and go on the road. However in the end I think it was a great trip, filled with stories for years to come. Stories like the following:
On the first day we got stuck in traffic in Indiana, and as we sat we kept wondering what the hell was going on, turns out someone had dropped hay on the road and people were slowing down to go around it, and police had arrived to try and deal with the situation. To Charles this was a huge source of amusement.
The second day showed the folly of my idea to go south to avoid snow and cold weather by the fact that in the panhandle of Texas we had to slow to around 45 MPH, from our usual 80-90 MPH, because the road was covered in snow, and I mean covered, in snow. We saw spinouts, we saw a bunch of tracks from the main highway to the surface road, which is old Route 66 along that path.
The noteworthy events of the third day were a coyote running across the road when we were getting underway, and admittedly on my shift of driving, we almost ran out of gas on I-40 in the middle of the desert in California. In fact the gas light pinged on about 5 miles before the next exit, which was fifty miles from the last one. Thankfully we made it, and I took my first steps in California, which I think is my 45th state, but I’m not positive.
We got to Charles apartment on Bellagio Drive in the Bel Air section of LA about 10 PM Pacific Time, with surprisingly little traffic. We immediately began getting the place ready, by getting the things inside, figuring out parking, which involved me parallel parking the car because he has apparently forgotten how-to, and going to a grocery store. Due to his illness we spent a lot of the next day in the room as he rested, on the floor since he didn’t have a bed. We got a few more essentials and went to bed, and I got us up at 4 AM to catch my flight to Chicago and my New Years party.
Getting home from Chicago was supposed to be a simple thing, just a straight shot up 1-94 and I would be home, but Mother Nature had different plans, we were forced to stop in Michigan City, IN for the night, and we made it home this afternoon.
What has all of this driving across the country shown me, it has shown me that this is a giant country of diverse history and local customs and eccentricities. The great middle of the country is where you discover the true nature of American life, where a lot of the richness of our culture comes from. During the trip in all these local eateries I didn’t hear one mention of primaries and politics, about the things we in this business think is what the world revolves around. It made me stop and think that in the end to most people it doesn’t matter who wins what office, as long as the roads are good and the garbage is picked up. In the end I was reminded of a quote I love, which I still hold to be true…
"There ought to be a law against anybody going to Europe until they have seen the things we have in this country." - Will Rogers
It is easy to buy into that when one doesn’t experience the country, however over the course of the last week I have done something I haven’t done since 1998, I took a trip across the country in a car, not in a plane.
First let me say, as someone who calls himself a small-government conservative, the Interstate Freeway System is at the same time one of the best and one of the worst things that the federal government ever did. Good because I was able to drive from Detroit, MI to Los Angeles, CA in three 14 hour days. It was bad because, in the words of Charles Kuralt, “You are able to go across the entire country without seeing anything.”
To avoid cold weather and snow, so I thought, I took a more Southerly route to get there, following roughly the old US 66, or Route 66 as it is more popularly known. Particularly along I-40 Route 66 is still a big part of the country’s heritage, even though it was decommissioned in the 80’s. I took the trip because my friend of 15 years Charles Dewandeler decided to move to Hollywood to pursue his dream of being a director, and he wanted someone to go with him.
Now don’t get me wrong, Charles is one of my best friends, but the idea of him on the road was an odd one to me, because it is not an environment he is accustomed to. Eating at random places, meeting random people along the way, and staying at random places along the way. However he took to it well, until the last day, which I will get to later.
I wanted my friend to have a true road experience, so we made no hotel reservations, I had a route in mind, and we drove until we ran out of gas, ate, and kept going until around 10 PM each night, local time. We crossed a time zone a day this way, so we drove from 9AM-10PM on the clock, but more like 9AM-11PM, not a short day in a car, especially for me being 6’4”. The first day we made it halfway though Missouri, the second day halfway through New Mexico, and the last day all the way to LA. We stayed at the same hotel chain both nights, but only because I was so impressed with them the first night, when we randomly found it, I got lucky that it was also in the town where we made our second stop.
The route I planned took us down I-94, to I-69, to I-70, to I-44, to I-40, to I-15 into LA. From 44 to 15 we paralleled Route 66. This meant that we had an interesting variety of things to see and non-standard places to eat along the way. When the purpose of a road trip is to get somewhere fast, the places you stop to eat are the most important, for it is the only way to see anything.
The first day Charles ate before we left, and I grabbed Krispy Kremes from the gas station we stopped at to fill up before we left, but I insisted that we not stop at any fast food places, and places that I thought you needed to go on the road. The first day we ate at Huddle House for lunch, which to me looked like an old Waffle House with its name changed. It amused me because it had a big plastic horse outside of it. That night we ate at a local diner in Illinois, which to the best of my memory was called “Restaurant” on the outside, and I don’t remember if it had another name inside. It was at the Huddle House I first had Sweet Potato Fries, which were excellent.
The second day we ate at a truck stop Country Kitchen for lunch, and at a local Texas joint for dinner whose name escapes me, but we got the name on video. What made this place phenomenal was that it was done up to look like an old brothel turned restaurant and the waitresses were dressed, as Charles put it, in “Miss Kitty” outfits. For those who don’t get the reference he meant the Miss Kitty on the old western TV show Gunsmoke. They had the lace outfits with the frills, and cowboy boots, my particular favorite being the greeter who had spurs on her boots.
The last day we ate at a Cracker Barrel for lunch, in my opinion an essential on a road trip and at the Coffee Shop in Ludlow, CA for dinner, which we had a waiter that I swear to God looked like he was pregnant. It also had the greasiest food I have ever seen, my tuna salad sandwich tasted like it wasn’t on toasted bread, but bread dredged in oil. Charles had a grilled cheese sandwich, which I don’t think agreed with him all too well.
For breakfast each day we ate at our hotel, the Drury Inn and Suites, which is now my new favorite hotel chain, for not only does it have free internet, but a free hot breakfast, featuring eggs, sausage patties, biscuits and gravy, and in the one in Springfield, MO, a do-it-yourself waffle maker. Needless to say this Waffle House fan was placated not going there by making my own waffle for breakfast.
I have always loved the road trip, because it is in my opinion to best way to appreciate the beauty and vastness of the country. Flying doesn’t give you the right perspective, driving does. I hoped to pass that impression onto my friend, however considering he got sick as soon as we got to LA, he probably doesn’t want to do it again. It shows me that I can’t expect everyone to take to things like I do, to have the ability to so dramatically change my normal habits and go on the road. However in the end I think it was a great trip, filled with stories for years to come. Stories like the following:
On the first day we got stuck in traffic in Indiana, and as we sat we kept wondering what the hell was going on, turns out someone had dropped hay on the road and people were slowing down to go around it, and police had arrived to try and deal with the situation. To Charles this was a huge source of amusement.
The second day showed the folly of my idea to go south to avoid snow and cold weather by the fact that in the panhandle of Texas we had to slow to around 45 MPH, from our usual 80-90 MPH, because the road was covered in snow, and I mean covered, in snow. We saw spinouts, we saw a bunch of tracks from the main highway to the surface road, which is old Route 66 along that path.
The noteworthy events of the third day were a coyote running across the road when we were getting underway, and admittedly on my shift of driving, we almost ran out of gas on I-40 in the middle of the desert in California. In fact the gas light pinged on about 5 miles before the next exit, which was fifty miles from the last one. Thankfully we made it, and I took my first steps in California, which I think is my 45th state, but I’m not positive.
We got to Charles apartment on Bellagio Drive in the Bel Air section of LA about 10 PM Pacific Time, with surprisingly little traffic. We immediately began getting the place ready, by getting the things inside, figuring out parking, which involved me parallel parking the car because he has apparently forgotten how-to, and going to a grocery store. Due to his illness we spent a lot of the next day in the room as he rested, on the floor since he didn’t have a bed. We got a few more essentials and went to bed, and I got us up at 4 AM to catch my flight to Chicago and my New Years party.
Getting home from Chicago was supposed to be a simple thing, just a straight shot up 1-94 and I would be home, but Mother Nature had different plans, we were forced to stop in Michigan City, IN for the night, and we made it home this afternoon.
What has all of this driving across the country shown me, it has shown me that this is a giant country of diverse history and local customs and eccentricities. The great middle of the country is where you discover the true nature of American life, where a lot of the richness of our culture comes from. During the trip in all these local eateries I didn’t hear one mention of primaries and politics, about the things we in this business think is what the world revolves around. It made me stop and think that in the end to most people it doesn’t matter who wins what office, as long as the roads are good and the garbage is picked up. In the end I was reminded of a quote I love, which I still hold to be true…
"There ought to be a law against anybody going to Europe until they have seen the things we have in this country." - Will Rogers
Friday, November 16, 2007
Michigan Young Republicans Are Back…Now What?
A little over a week ago the Michigan Federation of Young Republicans had its biannual convention, where one of the first decisions was to adopt a new constitution that contained a new name the Michigan Young Republicans. Right after that we decided to triple the counties we have chartered, expanding from Macomb and Oakland to now include Wayne, Washtenaw, Ingham, and Kalamazoo Counties. We also elected our 6 officers for their two-year terms. I am happy to have been elected National Committeeman, where I will be one of three people, including Chairman Stuart Foster and National Committeewoman Victoria Czapski, who represent Michigan to the Young Republican National Federation. Right after the convention the Fall YRNF Meeting took place, which unfortunately I had to miss due to financial restraints. Michigan is back from a bad last two years thanks to the admitted sex offender that was the last chairman and the havoc he wrought.
The question we have before us now is what is next. Getting the charter back and building a viable statewide organization was what we pushed for since the admitted sex offender resigned his post. We have had meetings and discussions, and the current crop of three people who now represent Michigan to the YRNF are there because we are the ones who pushed the most for this organization to get back on its feet. We are the ones who went to the national convention in July in Florida to get our charter back, and we apparently made an impression because I was told people were asking where I was over the weekend at the quarterly meeting, which made me chuckle a bit. I mean I know I make an impression, but I didn’t realize I made such a one that they were wondering why I didn’t come to the very next gathering, kind of flattering.
We of course did have other people helping with this effort, people like Alicia Ping, who got pushed into the leadership of the group when the chair resigned and the rest of the e-board were just names the former chair made up, people like Dave Krall who wrote our new constitution and is the leader of our largest chapter in Oakland County. We also had input from our new Treasurer and Secretary John Knowles and Angelique Rea. These are the people who put in the work last winter and all spring and summer before we went to Florida. We also had the support of the Youth Chair of the MRP Matt Hall, and other people within the party structure. After we got the charter back we were pleased to see new people want to be part of it, like the group in Kalamazoo that includes Matt, like the group in Washtenaw County that produced our new Vice Chairman Vinnie Vernuccio. We actually also had another interested group, but they tried to set up a group that was against our constitutional restrictions so they were encouraged to fall in line with what is required for a chapter and come back at a later date. This thrills me, because it shows that we have interest in the group, and our goal of a county chapter in all 83 of Michigan’s counties is a goal we can achieve.
In my opinion however the most important part of this new direction is the new vision that the new e-board brings to the table. We have seen the divisive nature of intra-party politics for the past 10 years; we have seen the insanity that has become the CR state organization. We look at ourselves as the next generation of the Michigan Republican Party, and it is our goal to put the old arguments to rest, and not allow them to continue with our generation, and also to tell the CR’s who are graduating and joining our ranks that we are a more mature group and that the petty squabbling has to be left at the door. This organization will not be for the glory of one man, that’s what it was before and it put the organization on life support. It will not be about intra-party fights. By the declared preference and where I think the undeclared people lean I have a count of 1 Romney, 2 McCain, 2 Rudy, and 1 Thompson on our e-board, that is a good balance, and shows that we are not about Presidential politics as a group, one of the reasons why the new constitution says that the state organization will not endorse candidates in a primary race, which keeps us as a neutral place for all to come.
We hope to become the premier social and networking group in this state and for our county chapters to become the same in their counties. We love politics, and some of us have further political aspirations, but at the most basic level Young Republicans is for political junkies and non-junkies, it is a place for those 18-40 who have a shared viewpoint to gather together to enjoy each other as friends, and no matter what that is a vision I hope we never lose.
The question we have before us now is what is next. Getting the charter back and building a viable statewide organization was what we pushed for since the admitted sex offender resigned his post. We have had meetings and discussions, and the current crop of three people who now represent Michigan to the YRNF are there because we are the ones who pushed the most for this organization to get back on its feet. We are the ones who went to the national convention in July in Florida to get our charter back, and we apparently made an impression because I was told people were asking where I was over the weekend at the quarterly meeting, which made me chuckle a bit. I mean I know I make an impression, but I didn’t realize I made such a one that they were wondering why I didn’t come to the very next gathering, kind of flattering.
We of course did have other people helping with this effort, people like Alicia Ping, who got pushed into the leadership of the group when the chair resigned and the rest of the e-board were just names the former chair made up, people like Dave Krall who wrote our new constitution and is the leader of our largest chapter in Oakland County. We also had input from our new Treasurer and Secretary John Knowles and Angelique Rea. These are the people who put in the work last winter and all spring and summer before we went to Florida. We also had the support of the Youth Chair of the MRP Matt Hall, and other people within the party structure. After we got the charter back we were pleased to see new people want to be part of it, like the group in Kalamazoo that includes Matt, like the group in Washtenaw County that produced our new Vice Chairman Vinnie Vernuccio. We actually also had another interested group, but they tried to set up a group that was against our constitutional restrictions so they were encouraged to fall in line with what is required for a chapter and come back at a later date. This thrills me, because it shows that we have interest in the group, and our goal of a county chapter in all 83 of Michigan’s counties is a goal we can achieve.
In my opinion however the most important part of this new direction is the new vision that the new e-board brings to the table. We have seen the divisive nature of intra-party politics for the past 10 years; we have seen the insanity that has become the CR state organization. We look at ourselves as the next generation of the Michigan Republican Party, and it is our goal to put the old arguments to rest, and not allow them to continue with our generation, and also to tell the CR’s who are graduating and joining our ranks that we are a more mature group and that the petty squabbling has to be left at the door. This organization will not be for the glory of one man, that’s what it was before and it put the organization on life support. It will not be about intra-party fights. By the declared preference and where I think the undeclared people lean I have a count of 1 Romney, 2 McCain, 2 Rudy, and 1 Thompson on our e-board, that is a good balance, and shows that we are not about Presidential politics as a group, one of the reasons why the new constitution says that the state organization will not endorse candidates in a primary race, which keeps us as a neutral place for all to come.
We hope to become the premier social and networking group in this state and for our county chapters to become the same in their counties. We love politics, and some of us have further political aspirations, but at the most basic level Young Republicans is for political junkies and non-junkies, it is a place for those 18-40 who have a shared viewpoint to gather together to enjoy each other as friends, and no matter what that is a vision I hope we never lose.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
To Recall or Not to Recall...
I have been hearing a lot of views lately about Republicans, especially ones who hold titled positions, leading recalls of Michigan Republican legislators.
The argument I have heard against this is that as Republicans we should support Republicans no matter what and not risk our tenuous control of one house of the state legislature and risk our chance to build towards control of another. I find this argument to be ludicrous.
What I think gets forgotten in all of this argument about party identity and how we should support them as Republican activists is the basics of what the relationship between me and my elected officials is. They work for me, I went out and chose them to represent me, and if I feel they aren’t representing me then I have every right under Michigan law to demonstrate that through the recall process. Now I can’t personally speak to this because my state legislators Rep. Kim Meltzer and Sen. Alan Sanborn, did not vote for the tax increase that prompted these recall movements. However had they, even though I consider Rep. Meltzer a friend, who I have known personally since she was on the Clinton Township Board of Trustees and I worked with my friend on a Clinton Township TV infotainment piece, and I think Sen. Sanborn has served with distinction and good conservative values his entire career, if either of them voted for the tax increase, which is making it harder for me to find employment, I would be right there seeking a recall vote on them.
Another part that I think is missed by people is that a recall vote is just that, a vote, it is a group of citizens getting together and saying, “We don’t like the way you have been serving in your office, and we want to see if the rest of your constituents agree with us.” There is no guarantee that if these recall votes are held that they will be successful. However we are upset at our legislators and we have the right to act as private citizens, just because we gain a title in some Republican organization does not mean we forfeit the right to act as a private citizen who has a problem with the people we have given a trust to do what is in our best interests.
I am the Vice-Chairman of a county YR chapter, I am a former CR Chapter Chairman, and I am running for a statewide YR office, does this mean I need to give up the right to advocate as a human being with a political belief system. Does my seeking these and other offices mean that I give up my right to think for myself and act on what I think is best. Have I signed away my ability to be an independent thinker and now I have to be a drone of anyone who won an office with an R after their name. I don’t think so.
So to those who say that because you are an activist in a Republican organization you have to bend over to support Republicans who don’t act like Republicans I say this…I am a person, not a drone.
The argument I have heard against this is that as Republicans we should support Republicans no matter what and not risk our tenuous control of one house of the state legislature and risk our chance to build towards control of another. I find this argument to be ludicrous.
What I think gets forgotten in all of this argument about party identity and how we should support them as Republican activists is the basics of what the relationship between me and my elected officials is. They work for me, I went out and chose them to represent me, and if I feel they aren’t representing me then I have every right under Michigan law to demonstrate that through the recall process. Now I can’t personally speak to this because my state legislators Rep. Kim Meltzer and Sen. Alan Sanborn, did not vote for the tax increase that prompted these recall movements. However had they, even though I consider Rep. Meltzer a friend, who I have known personally since she was on the Clinton Township Board of Trustees and I worked with my friend on a Clinton Township TV infotainment piece, and I think Sen. Sanborn has served with distinction and good conservative values his entire career, if either of them voted for the tax increase, which is making it harder for me to find employment, I would be right there seeking a recall vote on them.
Another part that I think is missed by people is that a recall vote is just that, a vote, it is a group of citizens getting together and saying, “We don’t like the way you have been serving in your office, and we want to see if the rest of your constituents agree with us.” There is no guarantee that if these recall votes are held that they will be successful. However we are upset at our legislators and we have the right to act as private citizens, just because we gain a title in some Republican organization does not mean we forfeit the right to act as a private citizen who has a problem with the people we have given a trust to do what is in our best interests.
I am the Vice-Chairman of a county YR chapter, I am a former CR Chapter Chairman, and I am running for a statewide YR office, does this mean I need to give up the right to advocate as a human being with a political belief system. Does my seeking these and other offices mean that I give up my right to think for myself and act on what I think is best. Have I signed away my ability to be an independent thinker and now I have to be a drone of anyone who won an office with an R after their name. I don’t think so.
So to those who say that because you are an activist in a Republican organization you have to bend over to support Republicans who don’t act like Republicans I say this…I am a person, not a drone.
Monday, October 1, 2007
Michigan My Michigan
How many people know that my title is the name of our state song.
How many people know what the Official State Gemstone is...or the State Soil?
What about the Official State Rock...the State Tree...how about the State Bird.
Why would you care about any of these things is my next question, because they are symbols, symbols of the state, enacted by our state government, a state government that had time to decide these things, or that we needed an official state soil.
Most people are talking about the budget crunch and the short-lived shutdown, but in my opinion this is but the visual for the underlying problem, the problem of the overreach of government.
When I looked at the list of things that was to be shut down this morning I was shocked that there was this much useless things that the state does that needed to be shut down.
Now of course there are things like the state parks, the Secretary of State, and construction on the numbered roads, those are things that are things that government should be doing and should have to pay for with tax money, for these are the things we need for an ordered society.
However some of the other things are just a hindrance on the ability for people to live the way they want and for the invisible hand of the free market to do what it does best. When I was explaining the effects of the shutdown the parts that caused the most contention was that liquor sales would stop after stocks ran out because liquor is delivered by the states and the cigarettes that need the stamps in order to be sold.
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These are things that get in the way of commerce, if I want a bottle of Jack Daniels and a pack of smokes I shouldn't have to depend on my government to get them, I should be able to go to a person who sells them and get them. We don't have these restrictions on beer and wine, which soothed a few people who were mad about the liquor thing. In order to return government to the role that we want it to be at I think we need to look beyond the simple solutions and go to the bigger ones.
I think we need to seriously begin to look at the size and scope of our legislative bodies. I firmly believe that we need to make our legislature a part time one. This would accomplish two things in my mind, it would make the legislature more accountable to the voters because they spend more time in the district and not in Lansing, and it would give the legislature only the amount of time to do what it needs to do to run the state and not time to waste on things like a State Soil, even though I know there was someone lobbying to get a state soil.
Another idea has been the unicameral legislature, like Nebraska. I have always been intrigued by that idea. However I think it is the weaker of the two ideas. The House and Senate do serve important purposes, they do make sure one doesn't go too nutty in doing something. Especially in a time like now when the House and Governor are one party and the Senate is another. However what this would do would create a de facto state Prime Minister, which would lead to endless power struggles between the Governor and the leader of the Legislature.
Instead of eliminating the Senate, I also think some reform may be in order. Right now the Senate acts just like a smaller House, elected by district according to a political gerrymander every ten years. I think we should look to the model of our federal government. Instead of having a Senate elected by district I think we should have one elected by County, this would give the less populated counties a bigger voice in the running of the state, instead of everything being about the population centers of the Metro Detroit area, and the greater Grand Rapids area. One Senator per county would give us 83 Senators and 110 Representatives, but the mindset would change and that is something that is needed in Lansing.
Now I am still at the beginning at my journey through local, state, and national politics, but there is nothing wrong with any idea, short of dictatorial control, being discussed and debated, by taking a hard look at how our government is run I think we can come together and find a way to make it work better not just for me, but for all of us here in the Great State of Michigan.
Oh by the way...State symbols
State nicknames: Wolverine State, Great Lakes State, Mitten State, Water Winter Wonderland
State motto: Si quaeris peninsulam amoenam circumspice (Latin: If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look about you). This is a paraphrase of a statement made by British architect Sir Christopher Wren about his influence on London.
State song: My Michigan (official since 1937, but disputed amongst Michiganders)
State bird: American Robin (since 1931)
State animal: Wolverine (traditional, though not codified)
State game animal: White-tailed Deer (since 1997)
State fish: Brook Trout (since 1965)
State reptile: Painted Turtle (since 1995)
State fossil: Mastodon (since 2000)
State flower: Apple Blossom (adopted in 1897, official in 1997)
State wildflower: Dwarf Lake Iris (since 1998). Known as Iris lacustris, it is a federally listed threatened species.
State tree: White Pine (since 1955)
State stone: Petoskey stone (since 1965). It is composed of fossilized coral (Hexagonaria pericarnata) from long ago when the middle of the continent was covered with a shallow sea.
State gem: Isle Royale greenstone (since 1973). Also called chlorastrolite (literally "green star stone"), the mineral is found on Isle Royale and the Keweenaw peninsula.
State soil: Kalkaska Sand (since 1990), ranges in color from black to yellowish brown, covers nearly a million acres (4,000 km²) in 29 counties.
Credit: Wikipedia.com
How many people know what the Official State Gemstone is...or the State Soil?
What about the Official State Rock...the State Tree...how about the State Bird.
Why would you care about any of these things is my next question, because they are symbols, symbols of the state, enacted by our state government, a state government that had time to decide these things, or that we needed an official state soil.
Most people are talking about the budget crunch and the short-lived shutdown, but in my opinion this is but the visual for the underlying problem, the problem of the overreach of government.
When I looked at the list of things that was to be shut down this morning I was shocked that there was this much useless things that the state does that needed to be shut down.
Now of course there are things like the state parks, the Secretary of State, and construction on the numbered roads, those are things that are things that government should be doing and should have to pay for with tax money, for these are the things we need for an ordered society.
However some of the other things are just a hindrance on the ability for people to live the way they want and for the invisible hand of the free market to do what it does best. When I was explaining the effects of the shutdown the parts that caused the most contention was that liquor sales would stop after stocks ran out because liquor is delivered by the states and the cigarettes that need the stamps in order to be sold.
/
These are things that get in the way of commerce, if I want a bottle of Jack Daniels and a pack of smokes I shouldn't have to depend on my government to get them, I should be able to go to a person who sells them and get them. We don't have these restrictions on beer and wine, which soothed a few people who were mad about the liquor thing. In order to return government to the role that we want it to be at I think we need to look beyond the simple solutions and go to the bigger ones.
I think we need to seriously begin to look at the size and scope of our legislative bodies. I firmly believe that we need to make our legislature a part time one. This would accomplish two things in my mind, it would make the legislature more accountable to the voters because they spend more time in the district and not in Lansing, and it would give the legislature only the amount of time to do what it needs to do to run the state and not time to waste on things like a State Soil, even though I know there was someone lobbying to get a state soil.
Another idea has been the unicameral legislature, like Nebraska. I have always been intrigued by that idea. However I think it is the weaker of the two ideas. The House and Senate do serve important purposes, they do make sure one doesn't go too nutty in doing something. Especially in a time like now when the House and Governor are one party and the Senate is another. However what this would do would create a de facto state Prime Minister, which would lead to endless power struggles between the Governor and the leader of the Legislature.
Instead of eliminating the Senate, I also think some reform may be in order. Right now the Senate acts just like a smaller House, elected by district according to a political gerrymander every ten years. I think we should look to the model of our federal government. Instead of having a Senate elected by district I think we should have one elected by County, this would give the less populated counties a bigger voice in the running of the state, instead of everything being about the population centers of the Metro Detroit area, and the greater Grand Rapids area. One Senator per county would give us 83 Senators and 110 Representatives, but the mindset would change and that is something that is needed in Lansing.
Now I am still at the beginning at my journey through local, state, and national politics, but there is nothing wrong with any idea, short of dictatorial control, being discussed and debated, by taking a hard look at how our government is run I think we can come together and find a way to make it work better not just for me, but for all of us here in the Great State of Michigan.
Oh by the way...State symbols
State nicknames: Wolverine State, Great Lakes State, Mitten State, Water Winter Wonderland
State motto: Si quaeris peninsulam amoenam circumspice (Latin: If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look about you). This is a paraphrase of a statement made by British architect Sir Christopher Wren about his influence on London.
State song: My Michigan (official since 1937, but disputed amongst Michiganders)
State bird: American Robin (since 1931)
State animal: Wolverine (traditional, though not codified)
State game animal: White-tailed Deer (since 1997)
State fish: Brook Trout (since 1965)
State reptile: Painted Turtle (since 1995)
State fossil: Mastodon (since 2000)
State flower: Apple Blossom (adopted in 1897, official in 1997)
State wildflower: Dwarf Lake Iris (since 1998). Known as Iris lacustris, it is a federally listed threatened species.
State tree: White Pine (since 1955)
State stone: Petoskey stone (since 1965). It is composed of fossilized coral (Hexagonaria pericarnata) from long ago when the middle of the continent was covered with a shallow sea.
State gem: Isle Royale greenstone (since 1973). Also called chlorastrolite (literally "green star stone"), the mineral is found on Isle Royale and the Keweenaw peninsula.
State soil: Kalkaska Sand (since 1990), ranges in color from black to yellowish brown, covers nearly a million acres (4,000 km²) in 29 counties.
Credit: Wikipedia.com
Friday, September 14, 2007
What is Wrong With The Republican Party in Michigan?
That statement was made yesterday by a Cleveland judge as he sentenced admitted sex offender Michael Flory to the maximum of 5 years in prison, with 5 years of supervised parole afterwards, with the ability of 2 and a half more years in prison if he screws up, under the new Adam Walsh law lifetime membership as a registered sex offender, and almost 3 thousand dollars in restitution to his victim.
That statement was made after people like his victim, who despite everyone knowing who she is I will not say her name, her father, and I told the tale of how the admitted sex offender used his position within the party to blast his victim, to get his toadies and kool-aid drinking friends to say that she was a lying whore, who was only going after him for political gain. My first response to that is, how did that work out for her, does she have any more political power, anything resembling a political career anymore, the answer to both questions is no, but that probably makes his sycophants happy.
I am in the process of getting my hands on the transcripts, which go more than 60 pages and are, according to the court reporter, the longest sentencing that judge has ever done. Part of this is because the admitted sex offender made a political speech to the judge, whining about how he had brought shame upon himself and his family, how he was sorry for the pain he caused, and that he should be let go so he can play daddy to his child. He should have removed the pretense and instead of addressing the judge he just should had looked directly into the camera from Channel 19 news that was there. The other reasons for the length was the 3 speeches I eluded to earlier, and then the long oratory by the absolutely amazing ADA who completely blasted the admitted sex offender, and told the story of what really happened, the story that some people still don’t believe because of how good of a job the admitted sex offender did spinning his story after what happened happened. The last reason for the length was the verbal pasting the judge gave to the admitted sex offender before and after he sentenced him to five years in prison, and had him put in handcuffs, in front of his victim, his mother, his wife, and I.
Here is my understanding of the truth, which has been embargoed by myself until now because of the ongoing legal proceeding. July 8th was the awards dinner at the hotel; afterwards we went to the Warehouse District of Cleveland for a party by the Georgia delegation. The provided a few free drinks, but because she knew someone she got more, she got drunk, he drank, she got sick on herself, someone else, and was so out of it she dropped her phone into the toiler while puking. A friend tried to find someone to take her back to the hotel, and found the admitted sex offender and put them in a cab together. I have no doubt that he wasn’t out looking for it from her, but once he saw his opportunity he took advantage of it. He advanced on her in the cab, all the while she had just been sick on herself, and followed her up to the room and after she tried to be polite and say goodnight, he forced his way into the room and forced himself upon her. He orally, vaginally, and anally raped her. He did this to a menstruating woman, who in the middle of his rape had to be sick again, and while she was puking again, he followed her into the bathroom and raped her while she was puking. All the while he was holding her throat, pulling her hair, calling her a whore and a slut and saying he knew she wanted it and she loved it. When her roommate came back, he held her by the throat and made her tell the roommate to go away, which she did, out of fear, a fear I don’t know and I doubt almost anyone reading this will know until they stare death in the face. When he finished with her, he went to a party in the hotel, and when someone came to the door with a glass of water, which the admitted sex offender mistook for straight vodka, he said that he liked vodka because “It’s knocks the ladies out” and “I just left a girl wet who tasted like vodka, she didn’t know what hit her.”
My involvement began at 7:50 AM the next morning, when my rooms phone rang, I thought one of my roommates asked for a wake up call so I ignored it and went back to sleep, only to be awoke again a moment later saying she wanted to talk to me, she asked me to come up to her room, me, being tired and thinking I had an hour and 10 minutes left to sleep, responded with a curt, “Why” she asked me to come up and I again asked why, then she said, and I will remember these words as long as I live “I had unconsentual sex last night.” At that moment, I was awake. Someone asked me why she said that and not rape, and I am firm of the belief that she couldn’t say it, because that word brought with it so many connotations that she revered to innocuous medical language like that, as per her training as a nurse, she was used to. I went up to the room and she told me what happened, and here’s the part where I become the villain to the admitted sex offenders toadies and kool-aid drinkers. She was hesitant about reporting it, she said she didn’t want to go through what was to come, as most victims of rape, which is why so many aren’t reported, however I insisted she report it, that she was going to have to live with this either way, and how would she feel when this happened to someone else and knowing she could have stopped it, and that he did this evil thing to you and he should be put away. So yes, here is the part I want everyone to understand, it was MY suggestion that we call the cops, and it was MY insistence that got this process going. I was telling friends yesterday that I put a man in jail, and while most of the credit goes to her for going through the hell she has been through, I am partially right. I knew what had to be done, and I haven’t regretted it for a second.
We called the cops, who were a pair that would make Reno 911 proud, especially the one who didn’t take off his aviator sunglasses the whole time looking like Dangle. We went to the hospital, and then we stayed for the rest of the day, mostly because she didn’t want to burden me and the other person who came with us on missing out on things because this happened to her. I think she was in the denial phase of the grief process at that moment, as she tried to act like nothing had happened to everyone else, while inside I’m sure she was suffering. We have gone through a year together of ups and downs, of her process of integrating this into her life, and even though the biggest part of my job is over I’m sure I will always have a role to play, and it is something I am proud to do.
Now onto the headline I led with, what the judge meant when he said that is that he was shocked that the Republican Party in Michigan would believe the rapist over his victim, and would actively work to make sure his victim was marginalized. However it’s not like Saul Anuzis got on his daily e-mail and said everyone believe him over her, it was more subtle, and it was led by sycophants and others who were devoted to the admitted sex offender. It was led by people who have proven themselves to be bad people, people who would do things like release a rape victims name on his blog, and other completely disgusting acts. However these actions are just the symptoms of a larger problem, the problem of the fractioning and infighting and vitriol and sniping within the Party. Now I am all for a rigorous debate on the issues and where we want to go as a party leading into the next election, but the manner on which the party attacks its own disgusts me. I have always prided myself on my ability to be friends and foster relationships with people on all sides of this divide, but the point is coming where one of these friends is going to do something that is going to need response, and going to need repudiation, and it is my intention to speak the truth to all, friend and foe alike, because it is my personal belief that the truth is a lot more fun than anything I can make up.
I wanted this blog to be a place where I could stretch my intellectualism, and my intellectual conservatism, however we live in a time where intellectualism and serious discussion and debate is frowned upon opposed to the quick hit piece and a personal smear. So here is my promise for the future, I will never personally attack anyone, I will disagree with positions and methods, and if something is relevant I will share it, but we are all people doing what we think is right, and we need to stop hating each other for it, when we must see who the real enemies are…Democrats.
That statement was made after people like his victim, who despite everyone knowing who she is I will not say her name, her father, and I told the tale of how the admitted sex offender used his position within the party to blast his victim, to get his toadies and kool-aid drinking friends to say that she was a lying whore, who was only going after him for political gain. My first response to that is, how did that work out for her, does she have any more political power, anything resembling a political career anymore, the answer to both questions is no, but that probably makes his sycophants happy.
I am in the process of getting my hands on the transcripts, which go more than 60 pages and are, according to the court reporter, the longest sentencing that judge has ever done. Part of this is because the admitted sex offender made a political speech to the judge, whining about how he had brought shame upon himself and his family, how he was sorry for the pain he caused, and that he should be let go so he can play daddy to his child. He should have removed the pretense and instead of addressing the judge he just should had looked directly into the camera from Channel 19 news that was there. The other reasons for the length was the 3 speeches I eluded to earlier, and then the long oratory by the absolutely amazing ADA who completely blasted the admitted sex offender, and told the story of what really happened, the story that some people still don’t believe because of how good of a job the admitted sex offender did spinning his story after what happened happened. The last reason for the length was the verbal pasting the judge gave to the admitted sex offender before and after he sentenced him to five years in prison, and had him put in handcuffs, in front of his victim, his mother, his wife, and I.
Here is my understanding of the truth, which has been embargoed by myself until now because of the ongoing legal proceeding. July 8th was the awards dinner at the hotel; afterwards we went to the Warehouse District of Cleveland for a party by the Georgia delegation. The provided a few free drinks, but because she knew someone she got more, she got drunk, he drank, she got sick on herself, someone else, and was so out of it she dropped her phone into the toiler while puking. A friend tried to find someone to take her back to the hotel, and found the admitted sex offender and put them in a cab together. I have no doubt that he wasn’t out looking for it from her, but once he saw his opportunity he took advantage of it. He advanced on her in the cab, all the while she had just been sick on herself, and followed her up to the room and after she tried to be polite and say goodnight, he forced his way into the room and forced himself upon her. He orally, vaginally, and anally raped her. He did this to a menstruating woman, who in the middle of his rape had to be sick again, and while she was puking again, he followed her into the bathroom and raped her while she was puking. All the while he was holding her throat, pulling her hair, calling her a whore and a slut and saying he knew she wanted it and she loved it. When her roommate came back, he held her by the throat and made her tell the roommate to go away, which she did, out of fear, a fear I don’t know and I doubt almost anyone reading this will know until they stare death in the face. When he finished with her, he went to a party in the hotel, and when someone came to the door with a glass of water, which the admitted sex offender mistook for straight vodka, he said that he liked vodka because “It’s knocks the ladies out” and “I just left a girl wet who tasted like vodka, she didn’t know what hit her.”
My involvement began at 7:50 AM the next morning, when my rooms phone rang, I thought one of my roommates asked for a wake up call so I ignored it and went back to sleep, only to be awoke again a moment later saying she wanted to talk to me, she asked me to come up to her room, me, being tired and thinking I had an hour and 10 minutes left to sleep, responded with a curt, “Why” she asked me to come up and I again asked why, then she said, and I will remember these words as long as I live “I had unconsentual sex last night.” At that moment, I was awake. Someone asked me why she said that and not rape, and I am firm of the belief that she couldn’t say it, because that word brought with it so many connotations that she revered to innocuous medical language like that, as per her training as a nurse, she was used to. I went up to the room and she told me what happened, and here’s the part where I become the villain to the admitted sex offenders toadies and kool-aid drinkers. She was hesitant about reporting it, she said she didn’t want to go through what was to come, as most victims of rape, which is why so many aren’t reported, however I insisted she report it, that she was going to have to live with this either way, and how would she feel when this happened to someone else and knowing she could have stopped it, and that he did this evil thing to you and he should be put away. So yes, here is the part I want everyone to understand, it was MY suggestion that we call the cops, and it was MY insistence that got this process going. I was telling friends yesterday that I put a man in jail, and while most of the credit goes to her for going through the hell she has been through, I am partially right. I knew what had to be done, and I haven’t regretted it for a second.
We called the cops, who were a pair that would make Reno 911 proud, especially the one who didn’t take off his aviator sunglasses the whole time looking like Dangle. We went to the hospital, and then we stayed for the rest of the day, mostly because she didn’t want to burden me and the other person who came with us on missing out on things because this happened to her. I think she was in the denial phase of the grief process at that moment, as she tried to act like nothing had happened to everyone else, while inside I’m sure she was suffering. We have gone through a year together of ups and downs, of her process of integrating this into her life, and even though the biggest part of my job is over I’m sure I will always have a role to play, and it is something I am proud to do.
Now onto the headline I led with, what the judge meant when he said that is that he was shocked that the Republican Party in Michigan would believe the rapist over his victim, and would actively work to make sure his victim was marginalized. However it’s not like Saul Anuzis got on his daily e-mail and said everyone believe him over her, it was more subtle, and it was led by sycophants and others who were devoted to the admitted sex offender. It was led by people who have proven themselves to be bad people, people who would do things like release a rape victims name on his blog, and other completely disgusting acts. However these actions are just the symptoms of a larger problem, the problem of the fractioning and infighting and vitriol and sniping within the Party. Now I am all for a rigorous debate on the issues and where we want to go as a party leading into the next election, but the manner on which the party attacks its own disgusts me. I have always prided myself on my ability to be friends and foster relationships with people on all sides of this divide, but the point is coming where one of these friends is going to do something that is going to need response, and going to need repudiation, and it is my intention to speak the truth to all, friend and foe alike, because it is my personal belief that the truth is a lot more fun than anything I can make up.
I wanted this blog to be a place where I could stretch my intellectualism, and my intellectual conservatism, however we live in a time where intellectualism and serious discussion and debate is frowned upon opposed to the quick hit piece and a personal smear. So here is my promise for the future, I will never personally attack anyone, I will disagree with positions and methods, and if something is relevant I will share it, but we are all people doing what we think is right, and we need to stop hating each other for it, when we must see who the real enemies are…Democrats.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Six Years Later
From now until the end of time this will be a special day in the course of the year. This will be a day long remembered, if not because of any patriotic or nationalist matter, but because it was a day of extreme human depravity, showing us at our worst, but also at our best.
This is a day on which we should never forget the lessons of, because they are lessons long remembered, lessons that teach us to be prepared for the most extreme of situations, for they may sometime come to bear. It also showed us the best of what we can be as a people, we can be people who run into the fire of a burning building that is about to come down so one more person can make it out, we are people who line up to give blood and do what little we can in the aftermath of a horror, and we are a people that will stand up in one voice and say your not going to do this to us, as Americans, and as humans.
We have come a long way since 2001, we are no longer united behind a single task, because that task was done and we differed on what to do next, which is reasonable and expected. We have begun the end of our grief and mourning as we begin to put buildings back up where the Twin Towers fell. We have gone back to the petty bickering and annoyances that define our politics. These were all going to happen, and the fact that they have happened show that we have accepted life beyond 9/11 and have learned to live with it.
We are in a period of transition about this day, from a day that brought horrid images screaming back to our face, to a date that we remember for the horrors that occurred. The difference is how we thought of September 11th 5 years ago and how we look at December 7th today. We remember the vile act, we remember that it caused us to unite and accomplish a great feat, but the anger and fear aren’t there anymore, and in the end that is what should be happening.
We should never forget this day, or the 2,997 people whose lives were ended in a heartbeat, but we cant continue to live for that day, and I think it is healthy that we don’t anymore, as long as we never forget what happened and what it shows us we must do. May God bless those souls, and all of ours.
This is a day on which we should never forget the lessons of, because they are lessons long remembered, lessons that teach us to be prepared for the most extreme of situations, for they may sometime come to bear. It also showed us the best of what we can be as a people, we can be people who run into the fire of a burning building that is about to come down so one more person can make it out, we are people who line up to give blood and do what little we can in the aftermath of a horror, and we are a people that will stand up in one voice and say your not going to do this to us, as Americans, and as humans.
We have come a long way since 2001, we are no longer united behind a single task, because that task was done and we differed on what to do next, which is reasonable and expected. We have begun the end of our grief and mourning as we begin to put buildings back up where the Twin Towers fell. We have gone back to the petty bickering and annoyances that define our politics. These were all going to happen, and the fact that they have happened show that we have accepted life beyond 9/11 and have learned to live with it.
We are in a period of transition about this day, from a day that brought horrid images screaming back to our face, to a date that we remember for the horrors that occurred. The difference is how we thought of September 11th 5 years ago and how we look at December 7th today. We remember the vile act, we remember that it caused us to unite and accomplish a great feat, but the anger and fear aren’t there anymore, and in the end that is what should be happening.
We should never forget this day, or the 2,997 people whose lives were ended in a heartbeat, but we cant continue to live for that day, and I think it is healthy that we don’t anymore, as long as we never forget what happened and what it shows us we must do. May God bless those souls, and all of ours.
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