A Teabagger In the Crowd!

It amazes me how real life can play out years or decades ahead of time in the movies. It was only a year and a half ago that I watched the film A Face in the Crowd for the first time. A classic movie directed by Elia Kazan, who you may remember also directed many other socially relevant films such as On the Waterfront, and East of Eden.
The film takes place in the 1950's during the heyday of radio, and the beginnings of television. Its main focus was a character named Lonesome Rhodes as played by a youngish Andy Griffith. Griffith was absolutely captivating in this film, and if you get the chance to see it you will never be able to watch his series The Andy Griffith Show again without instinctively recoiling at his saccharine voice. The character Rhodes is a found star living among the captives at a small town jail who likes to dispense advise, and grassroots wisdom, while plucking a guitar. Lonesome likes the limelight, and power that comes from the attention his populist screeds on television, and radio bring. He gins up hatred, and anger in a way I find comparable to the way the modern GOP does today.

It was during last years election that I first saw similarity between this "found star" Rhodes, and the Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin. She too, (just like ol' Lonesome) can muster mobs of people and raise anger toward made up boogie men, and fake issues using an amazingly sweet voice. People like Sarah, and Lonesome Rhodes often do get the attention they seek, but in real life, as in the film they too find themselves washed up when former allies turn on them. I do not believe it will be long before the cooler heads in the GOP begin to reel in their crazy activist counterparts, and give them a map to the door. If they ever plan to make a run at 2012 in a serious way, they will need to be able to point to level headed leadership in order to woo a majority of voters.

If they are not able to do so, we may be seeing the real end of the GOP as we ever knew them. History shows again, and again how mob mentality eventually leads to the path of destruction. Generally the destruction of those behind the curtains pulling the strings.
Make no mistake, it IS the GOP pulling the strings, and pushing a mob mentality this weekend. For every congress person the GOP sends people to scream at, and shout down at town hall meetings this month, they are loosing many voters that came to hear about the health care plan they want and need badly. This time voters will not blame the Democrats for the destruction of health care reform, as the evidence is clear that Republicans are the party of NO!

Thoughts that Cross my mind

It struck me that the people I hear who use every single cool day in the summer to sarcastically ask "where's that Global Warming" (never mind that any 3rd grader should be able to tell you Global Warming refers to average global temperatures and not any one day or year in any one region) are also the same ones who complain that the stimulus hasn't helped because we are still losing jobs (never mind that the stimulus may in fact have kept tens or potentially hundreds of thousands of people from being unemployed which would have added to those numbers even more) and that it has cost too much were also the same ones who said repealing the Bush tax cuts would be a "job killer" while ignoring the bloating deficit. These same simple-minded people are also the same ones who blast the Governor for "not doing anything" while cheerleading the G.O.P. to stonewall her every effort and ignore that she's been right from the beginning about what was wrong with the Michigan economy and prevented her from doing anything about it.

These people remind me of our illustrious Attorney General Mike Cox. So fevered in his desire to win the love of the state's right wingers in his bid to be Governor that he talks out of both sides of his mouth when trying to attack that favorite Republican target, Blue Cross Blue Shield. Cox will try to argue one minute that Blue Cross needs to do more to cover the uninsured:

"Let us not forget the mission of Blue Cross is to put people over profits and not profits over people."

But then the next week Cox will turn around and try to knee cap Blue Cross' ability to do that very mission. Just as Blue Cross reports mammoth losses, Cox is trying to follow the GOP playbook of starving the beast in order to drown it in the bath tub. Blue Cross announced losses of $144.9 million in 2008 ("losses in the individual market... could exceed $1 billion by 2011") and plans to eliminate 1,000 jobs yet Cox is fighting the plans of the 'insurer of last resort' to stay solvent. It's obvious what he's doing yet media reports neglect to mention that he seems to want it both ways. He pretends to like Blue Cross' effort to insure the poor yet he does everything he can to prevent them from doing that. While private health care costs sky rocket, Republicans like Cox use BCBS's own mission statement as a cudgel to beat it to death by blocking any possible rate increases, saying it would hurt the poor people Blue Cross is in existence to serve (who would be hurt even more if Blue Cross were killed or privatized as Republican allies like the Mackinac Center have long wished).

For years, Republicans have dreamed of doing away with Blue Cross- just look at how much furor the notion of a "public option" has gotten in the national debate as it goes against everything the modern hyper-capitalists believe in (unregulated markets, a government that competes with the private sector or does what the private sector is unwilling or unable to do). Then look back here at Michigan and ask yourself if these people are really worried that any health care reform which includes the public option won't work... or that it will.

Peter the Tweeter is at it again!

Apparently fearing that the Iranian election dissent has taken America's eyes off the unbearable tragedies of being a Republican our favorite torture loving extremist decided to make a post in his twitter account.


Photo Courtesy Crooks and Liars

Follow as Logan Murphy, nails it when he points to the best part of this absurd statement:


The comments afterward!

Personal favorite?

michstjame: @petehoekstra Laughed so hard at your tweet water came out my nose. Now I know what waterboarding feels like. #GOPfail

This of course made me laugh until I realized that this idiot could be our Governor soon.
Nahhh! that would kinda be like.....

Serf and turf

Yesterday I was driving by the Barry County Friend of the Court and noticed that the county was getting free landscape work courtesy of an inmate at the county jail. Well, free if you ignore the cost to the taxpayer to keep someone in the county jail and to drive them to a work site and to pay someone to keep an eye on them so they don't escape.

I know that often the tattooed arms that restrain the pets at the local shelter which get photographed and printed in the local paper belong to jail inmates who do jobs to help pay for their 3 squares and a bed at Sheriff Leaf's B&B. So it didn't seem unusual in any way to see one of trimming the lawn. In fact, it was nice to know some guy wasn't getting paid 3 times my hourly wage to enjoy the fresh air and sunshine while I toil away inside an office not quite enjoying the stale air and flourescent lighting.

Various citizens of Hastings were out walking the streets on a nice day. I noticed a few women strolling along a sidewalk not far from the inmate doing some weed whacking. I wondered how they felt looking over to realize a convict was standing not too far from them, without any apparent cuffs, leg irons, shackles or other implement to impede his movement that I could see. Even that didn't seem too odd given that this was at perhaps the busiest corner in the county, despite not seeing any armed guard or other presence to prevent an incident, since chances are this guy would like to hurry up and serve his time so he get out and perform the same menial task for at least minimum wage (if he's lucky enough to find employment, but that's another story I suppose). Maybe I've seen too many films but I half expected the Sheriff to be chewing on a toothpick or match, hand on his revolver or cradling a shotgun while keeping a watchful eye on his ward, but if any one was keeping an eye on the inmate while he performed his duties I didn't notice. I drove off without giving it any more thought.

Then today I drove by that same spot and what I saw did seem a bit off to me- enough to remember what I'd seen, and nearly forgotten, from the day before. The same jail inmate in his orange jumpsuit was in nearly the same spot behind the Barry County Friend of the Court building in downtown Hastings. This time instead of doing the yard work he was performing another task, a surprising one, at least as I saw it. This time the orange-adorned inmate was buffing a shine onto a nice looking black Chrysler (a 300, I believe).

Now, I have no way of knowing just from driving by and seeing this fleeting image whether the car in question is a county vehicle or privately owned but I didn't see any department insignia that would lead me to believe this car was official government property and I guess I didn't think a nicer car such as this would be used as a county vehicle- then again I still don't get why the Sheriff's Department has to drive gas guzzling SUVs while the state cops and city boys still seem to be able to fit their gear in a car just fine.

Is it just me or does anyone else see a different between making jail inmates do some yard work and having them shine a car, especially if the car isn't county property? If someone in the county might order him to clean their car would they then also ask to get their shoes shined? What is the limit of what these inmates are forced to do? Does any one care or does this fall into the common attitude that we don't care how prisoners are treated as long as we feel someone is "bring tough" on them?

Blogger's note: I though about waiting on this since I know local law enforcement is a bit pre-occupied tonight (my condolences to those affected) but I figured if I waited I'd just forget about it or put it off and it would be another month before I posted something.

Hoekstra knew of torture...Admits it!

"It was not necessary to release details of the enhanced interrogation techniques, because members of Congress from both parties have been fully aware of them since the program began in 2002."

If it is true as Congressman Hoekstra admits in his editorial yesterday in the Wall Street Journal that he knew about, and even condoned torture in his position as ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, we as his constituents should call for his immediate resignation.

in his own words:

"Members of Congress calling for an investigation of the enhanced interrogation program should remember that such an investigation can't be a selective review of information, or solely focus on the lawyers who wrote the memos, or the low-level employees who carried out this program.".

In his editorial he uses the same "everybody was doing it" excuse that my own parents would not accept from me as a child, and an end justifies the means excuse that reminds me of Nixonian days. What others knew, and when they knew it is a matter for investigators, and constituents of other congressional districts. But we cannot sit idly by when our own representative admits to allowing our nation to commit illegal actions.

Of tea bags and d-bags

So, the Republican Party has suddenly once again found its voice when it comes to deficits and bailouts to large industries. Despite years of being in power where they increased deficits, taking the nation from surpluses that could have secured Social Security and Medicare to deficits that were given mostly to the richest among us, and were in fact still power when the government handed out the largest of the bailouts that are they now so vociferously opposed to (it was fine when it was Wall Street but when Main Street started getting help they finally got up in arms about it), now we have to hear the sanctimonious blathering of the un-useful idiots who are now so enamored with the Constitution despite having spent 8 years dumping on it.

Now, thanks to the endless cheer leading at Fox News and other right wing propaganda outlets, the so-called 'Tea Party' movement has loudly begun to protest problems that were created by the party they support. Oh, I know their press releases said the events were bi-partisan but looking at the lists of speakers at local rallies one can't help but notice the list of prominent 'celebrity' wingnuts (like "Joe the Plummer" whose major claim to fame was lying about his income in a staged public ambush against the Democratic presidential candidate), right wing party hacks and even announced candidates for office such as Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox who 's making a bid for governor. It's not exactly a bi-partisan movement when your most prominent advocates are Michelle Malkin, Glenn Beck and Neil Cavuto.

According to their web site:

The Tea Party effort is just a small piece of a much larger movement aimed at restoring the basic free-market principles our country was built on. The Constitution, for the most part, is being ignored by our current government and we intend on working together to correct the problem.

The Tea Party effort is a grassroots, collaborative volunteer organization made up of every day American citizens from across the country. We take pride in the fact that we've built a 50 state network of leaders and activists using nothing more than the internet, a few websites and a burning desire to restore freedom.

Interesting stuff. Funny, how many times have we heard the protest is against bailouts and yet the "current government" isn't the one that handed that AIG and others billions in taxpayer money. Funny that the current administration has actually done much more to ensure any money is used for its intended purpose and with oversight. It was the Republican administration and its media lapdogs that demanded the money immediately and with no accountability. I give some Republicans credit for having originally opposed the bailout but too many of them were the ones demanding no public oversight and that the money be handed out in the middle of the night like gambling debts paid to a bookie in a back alley. The biggest problem here is that the Republicans seem to oppose government programs for the wrong reason. Once upon a time even most Republicans believed in regulated capitalism but now all we hear is "SOCIALISM" every time the government tries to do what it should and needs to be doing to restore order in the markets and security to our financial system.

The Republican party's financial benefactors have spent so much time and money "educating" its grassroots that all government is bad, that all regulation is flawed and any social safety net is immoral that too many have swallowed the party line and now hold an economic viewpoint that seems much closer to Mussolini's Italy than to Reagan's America.

More disturbing, the groups fomenting these public demonstrations keep using code words such as "revolt" and "revolution." A Congresswoman has even taken to calling for "an armed revolution." Recent news reports speak of how people are buying guns and ammo in large numbers. These add up to disturbing trends that could lead down dangerous paths. We have already seen too many instances of people making threats of violence. It all seems like the 1990s again when the right wing rhetoric pumped up such "every day citizens" as Timothy McVeigh and Eric Rudolph to oppose government in a way that was much more than simple protest. The level of rhetoric is quickly ratcheting up and the paranoid hostility seems misplaced when many of the "government actions" these people oppose were ones originally enacted during the past adminstration.

So, let's dial down the heated rhetoric and realize that the right wing lost the election and that the way to ensure being out of power for even longer is to embrace the nuttiest loons in the party and on it's fringes. The GOP is on the verge of becoming a regional party, isolated in the deep south. A recent survey showed the majority of Americans outside the deep south, including a majority of Republicans, outside of the deep south holding favorable opinions of such "liberal" icons as San Francisco and France yet listening to prominent Republicans you'd think they were despised by most Americans and certainly most Republicans. Most Americans support the current administration's efforts to re-enact regulation that prevented the type of calamity seen in the stock market over the last few months. Just as Republican opposition to the attempts by Franklin Roosevelt to repair the damage created by the GOP which helped fuel the Great Depression left them in the minority for years (one of the most vocal critics being Michigan's own Father Coughlin), the current right wing's exuberant opposition to common sense and mainstream plans to fix years of fiscal "reforms" that dismantled consumer and worker protection and that promoted endless mergers and consolidation which turned our economy into a perilous house of cards could just make it harder for them to win in November... even if it helps them win in August.

With a gubernatorial campaign and a dismal economy, the candidates for office in the Republican Party will fall all over themselves to see who can most strongly embrace right wing anger over having been kicked out of power and doing so might just help them win in the primary, but chances are it could actually hurt their chances to win in November. The Republican Party seems virtually assured of owning the Michigan Governor's Mansion unless they decide to dump those chances in the harbor. Will restraint win out? Given the nature of the GOP base over the last few years, I think the tea leaves suggest it's not likely.

Don't forget to turn out the lights...

Bye the way...Don't come in on monday either!
More unfortunate news as Wayland Chevy closes in Wayland. Tempers apparently ran high and there were a couple of scuffles.
Video from a WWMT report captured one of these scuffles.




It drives home the real cost of this terrible economy, as people loose their livelihoods, and families are effected. From what little I gleaned from this report, and others on the net, the company decided to not give notice of the closure until the day the doors would be shut. If true, such actions may very well be deserving of a knuckle sandwich being delivered in my opinion. As heartbreaking as it is to the owners and their families, that their businesses are being forced shut, they must remember the people working for them that put their hearts and souls into that company as well.

CARS Act...Cash For Clunkers!

I was considering a post on the outlook for new fuel efficient auto's and new business' that are interested in making them here in Michigan. But rather than running through some hopefuls that may or may not designate this state for their American home I thought we could put that off until another day. Instead let's take a look at

Rep. Betty Sutton's (OH) Consumer Assistance to Recycle and Save (CARS) Act

While I am sure everyone knows what I am talking about when I mention the CARS Act, please give me a moment in case you have been out of town for awhile.

The CARS act proposes to give consumers up to $5,000 for an old clunker trade in on an auto that is built in the United States that gets at least 27 mpg.
This proposal has many advantages to people living in the state of Michigan.

First and foremost it would help the economy as people who take advantage of the measure buy new cars. A similar measure in Germany caused a new car sales surge of 21 percent.

Secondly it helps the environment when people buy autos with more efficient motors. I still see some eighties land yachts floating around our highways, and this may be enough money to benefit those that otherwise cannot afford more practical means of getting to, and from work.

Third it makes us more independent from foreign sources of oil. Something that all sides of the political spectrum can agree is in our best interest.

A taste for cheap political stunts

One of the rumored contestants in the reality show political sweepstakes to be Michigan's Next Top Governor is the CEO of Domino's Pizza, David Brandon. Now, if you're like me, when you heard that you said "who?" Maybe you know Tom Monihan, the wingnut billionaire who founded Domino's and is using his fortune to create an ultra-conservative Catholic law school and city/cult compound in Florida. You may also know Mike Ilitch, founder of Little Caesar's and owner of the world champion Red Wings (who look capable of repeating) and the hoping to not stink as bad as last year Detroit Tigers (good luck on that without serious pitching help). Both of those last guys would at least be close to household names in Michigan if they chose to run, but Brandon is a relative unknown to most people.

Dana Houle knows about Brandon:

"You probably wouldn't realize that he's a rightwing Republican who in 2006 chaired the gubernatorial campaign of Amway heir and rightwing loon Dick DeVos and in 2008 bundled donations for Mitt Romney and was a major donor to John McCain.

You might not know that in 2006 Brandon seriously considered running against Democratic Senator Debbie Stabenow..."

Or...

"that last year Brandon was the second highest paid CEO in Michigan, or that he is often paid in the range of $20 million per year."

That's a lot of money for a guy who's company isn't even doing that well. Well, thanks to a high profile advertising campaign that has suddenly appeared on the TV airwaves, people are getting to know David Brandon who is now shamelessly touting "Domino’s Big Taste Bailout" with high-profile spots aired during mega-ratings blockbuster "American Idol."

According to a press release:

"Dave Brandon, CEO of Domino’s Pizza is taking to the streets for the launch of "Domino’s Big Taste Bailout" promotion. The TV commercials will premiere today during Fox’s American Idol. Brandon will be guiding us from Capitol Hill via Wall Street to Main Street, with an offer to deliver three or more medium, one topping pizzas or oven baked sandwiches for just $5 each to American consumers.

In an on-line continuation of the promotion, Domino’s consumers can actually win a Super Big Taste Bailout. Consumers are encouraged to visit Dominos.com to nominate a friend in need of a bailout. Two winners, as well as their nominating friends, will receive a year’s worth of Domino’s Pizza products with the prize delivered directly to their door by CEO Dave Brandon himself. Leading up to the first delivery, a countdown can be viewed on Dominos.com indicating when the delivery will take place. When the delivery takes place, the site will change to show Brandon’s location as he arrives at the winner’s house."

So, are these ads meant to advertise the offer (which gets a single mention in the press release) or the name of the CEO (which appears four times in the space of seven sentences) who is suddenly a "pizza populist" who is spreading economic goodwill in the form of affordable slabs of bleached flour topped with tomato sauce, cheese, etc.? And does this remind anyone else of the last time we had a gubernatorial campaign and suddenly the company of a candidate started to use it's ad money to assist the campaign in a way that played footsy with potential campaign finance violations?

If you've already forgotten, Brandon's buddy Dick Devos tried this with the Amway company who's horrible reputation as a reputed pyramid scheme was dragging down his campaign and was becoming the target of more and more attacks from the Democratic Party. Amway, who many life-long Michigan citizens could never recall having advertised on TV, suddenly brought out a huge waves of ads in a campaign called "I Am Amway" which were meant to show the company in a positive light and meant to help DeVos' poor personal approval numbers. It didn't help. Then again, I'm sure people like their cheap pizza more than the low cost laundry soap their co-worker keeps nagging them to buy. The difference here is that Amway and Devos were already unpopular and the candidate, mired in a losing campaign, tried this as a last ditch effort. This time around, Brandon is merely trying to raise his Q rating so Michigan voters in the GOP primary will have heard of the CEO when he runs.

Any way you slice it, it's obvious Brandon is using company money to build up his name recognition in order to bolster his upcoming campaign. Will Michigan voters buy it? Myself, I just find it humorous that a right wing Republican is talking up a bailout as if it's a good thing. Maybe those ads might not work as well as Brandon would like them to, especially since the base of the Republican Party likes the idea of bailouts about as much as most people like their pizza with anchovies.

Found in the local paper

Found in the Thursday, March 12, 2009 edition of The Hastings Banner:

"...there was an editor in Barry County who sometimes freely published his opinions about individuals."

..."he had a way of stating what he meant. He did not criticize to be mean-spirited. He had the conviction that a newspaper should be free to criticize officers and persons, if public interested seemed to demand that course."

The quotes come from former Hastings Banner M.L. Cook circa 1940 speaking of Orno Strong who was editor at the Nashville News apparently sometime in the 1890s. They appear in the "From Time to Time" history column without much information. I find it ironic those words were printed in the paper that fired their editor for espousing a personal opinion on his own blog with quotes fully attributed under his name, the blog even carrying a disclaimer that the writings were his own personal opinion.

I think one reason we see the trouble that newspapers are in is because so many of them took personal criticism as something to be avoided, firm stances alienate advertisers and readers. I can remember having a discussion with David T. Young, the former editor of the Banner, when I was considering starting this blog. The way I saw it, blogs were returning to the roots of the American newspaper. Blogs are all about opinion and point of view.

While many look down their noses even to this day, I think we've seen the American public voting with their wallets as newspapers whither on the vine and blogs enjoy increasing respectability and visibility. When I've been (often rightly) criticized for my own failings and shortcoming, I always tell the critics that they are free to start their own blog.

We are no longer help captive by the rich men who buy ink by the barrel. In fact, if this site cost me a dime I'd never have been able or willing to start it. You are free to publish your own unedited opinion without charge or much technical skill and I welcome you to do so. And sure, some may abuse that privilege, you may even think I've done so but how many newspapers have ignored their duty? How many newspapers, as well as TV news outlets, led the way into a misguided war in Iraq? How many stood by while the last administration ran up the debt and dismantled the protections that could have stopped or impeded the "economic tsunami" that now threatens us? How many newspapers are still allowing viewpoints they agree with through the filter of the editors pen without question while stopping others from accessing the precious space of the editorial pages? How many times does a trusted friend or political ally get to have their say, while potentially violating campaign finance laws and standards of ethics, while others are censored and silenced?

You can't ignore that often this blog and others like it have been places for vigorous discussions that couldn't take place in newspapers which often censor opinions the publisher disagrees with, while allowing its owner to stand high on his soapbox spouting off his own personal opinion. The thing is, you probably don't have the personal fortune to start your newspaper if you don't like the one you have. But you can start your own blog....

On the Virge

Mayor Bernero seems to be just the kind of person that is able to share how big 3 employees are building the future of our nation, and not just our state.

2010 Governor's race heats up in Feb. 2009

Despite it only being February of 2009, the eyes of politicos are all cast on fall of 2010 when Michigan elects a new Governor to replace term-limited Jennifer Granholm. A mushrooming field of entrants have declared or are testing the waters, almost a year and a half before the August 3, 2010 primary. With the state political conventions taking place this weekend, we are sure to see the race heat up even more.

The Free Press has a short article discussing the race and the impact of the weekend conventions on shaping the race:

"I don't think these party conventions are a huge deal," said Lansing political consultant Robert Kolt. "But when you're at this point, these are the people you need to help launch a campaign."

So, who's running and who's thinking about running and who's trying to get their name out there to get some free publicity? Wikipedia offers this field of candidates and prospects testing the waters for possible bids:

Democratic Party

• Lieutenant Governor John D. Cherry
• State House Speaker Andy Dillon
• Wayne County Executive Robert A. Ficano
• Genesee County Treasurer Dan Kildee
• Congressman Bart Stupak
• former Speaker of the House Curtis Hertel
• former Flint Mayor Don Williamson* (who just resigned under threat of recall)

*So far, only Williamson has formally declared his candidacy.
Also said to be considering a run are former Michigan State University football head coach George Perles (who must be like 1,000 years old) and Macomb County Sheriff Mark Hackel (who? a county sheriff for Governor? what's next, dog catcher?). Former Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer ruled out a gubernatorial run on November 20, 2008 despite decent polling last summer showing him outperforming the Lt. Governor in hypothetical match ups with DeVos and Land.

Without Archer, the Democrats seem to lack a 'superstar' with name recognition across the state. So far, the field is uninspiring to Democrats I talk to, with many alarmed that the milquetoast Cherry could even be considered a "front runner." It almost makes you wonder if outside those term-limited politicians who have nothing to lose, the rest of the Democratic Party has decided it's just not their year and are basically ceding it to the GOP.

Republican Party

Early reports had 2006 gubernatorial loser Dick DeVos trying to elbow any competition out of the race. But when the defeated DeVos decided not to get his billionaire butt bounced by the "overpaid" and unwashed masses a 2nd time, the race opened up for the GOP. Having effectively stonewalled the Governor's agenda for 8 years and blamed her for the economic mess and endless budget battles, the GOP looks ripe to pick off the seat.

With lust in his heart, Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox was the first candidate to join the whole affair when he let his eyes wander to the Governor's mansion, forming an exploratory campaign last fall. Also officially in the mix is Michigan Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land. Other candidates might include:

• State Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop
• Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard
• Domino's Pizza CEO David Brandon
• Congressman Peter Hoekstra (said to be speaking at the Barry Co. Lincoln Day dinner)
• State Senator Wayne Kuipers
• Congresswoman Candice Miller
• Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson
• State Senator Tom George

Also among those being discussed: Congressman Mike Rogers announced that he would not be running. National Review is trying to find a job for former Massachusetts governor and 2008 Presidential candidate Mitt Romney and is floating his name, despite Romney not even living in the state. Washed up rocker Ted Nugent has said that he has been looking into a possible run in 2010- just as he threatens to do every four years before chickening out every time. Personally, I think "The Nuge" is just trying to (Great White) 'Buffalo' his gullible fans into thinking he's politically relevant and earning some free publicity for his next reality show. The Republican race seems stacked with contenders and it should be an epic battle, with lots of early drop outs and likely a very hard fought contest leaving lots of scars and bruises, something the Democrats must be counting on if they have any chance to retain the Governor's mansion.

The coming days and weeks will likely shirt the landscape even more as we find out who's in and who's out. Chances are that the party faithful will find some things to like and a lot not to like about the current crop of candidates.

Prosecutors propose prolonged punishment

According to this story in the Muskegon Chronicle, West Michigan prosecutors are coming out of the woodwork to loudly oppose Governor Granholm's proposal to release thousands of non-violent offenders from state prisons, saving the state $262 million dollars in 6 years:

Gov. Jennifer Granholm and legislative leaders asked the Council of State Governments to review Michigan's criminal justice system and recommend cost savings. Those savings could be realized by reducing Michigan's prison population from nearly 48,500 inmates down to around 43,500, the report said.

Suggested legislation endorsed by key Republican and Democratic lawmakers would require the release of inmates who have served 120 percent of their minimum sentence, unless the parole board determines they pose a "very high risk" of committing new crimes.

The new law would not apply to current inmates nor to felons serving a maximum term of life for offenses including murder, rape, kidnapping, armed robbery or carjacking.

In other words, the worst offenders would stay behind bars where they should be and only a small amount (5,000 out of 48,500) would be eligible for early release. Mostly, the prosecutors just want to sound tough so they win their next election and don't really seem to mind that Michigan is once again facing a budget shortfall that could wipe out the types of programs that are built to actually prevent crime. In fact, the plan actually beefs up those programs. According to the Freep article on the study:

Also included in the group’s potential remedies are beefed-up law enforcement and crime lab capabilities, and increased training and job placement for offenders and disconnected young people.

So, now we get the hysterical prison industrial complex saying that the "early" release (even though they will have served 120% of the minimum sentence) of these prisoners will jeopardize public safety and those same people will offer no remedies in fixing the state budget or the economy other than casting blame at the people who have in fact been making the tough decisions. The answer to public safety isn't to lock everyone up. The answer to patching yet another budget hole isn't passing tax cuts and building more prisons. The answer isn't to listen to a bunch of politicians who can make a name for themselves by sounding tough and taking the easy path to popularity. We need adults who can quit grandstanding and picking on society's bogeyman to pad their resumés and win reelection.

This all reminds me of a quote from the quotable H.L. Mencken:

"The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary."

All-inclusive invocation

I just talked to someone tonight who still had their Christmas tree up and since this is my first post of the new year I guess I can't make fun of the Hastings Banner for still having it's Seasons Greetings header up on their web site. I didn't even realize their web site was up and running! So, here all of this time I could have been link blogging to the paper of record for Barry County and I didn't realize it. According to the Banner, it's seems the first order of business of the new Barry County Board wasn't to deal with public health and safety, it was to tend to their spiritual needs.

Having an invocation at future meetings was part of the discussion during the reorganizational session. Newly elected County Commissioner Mike Bremer brought up the subject, asking board members whether they wanted to have an invocation at future meetings. Bremer read a sample invocation to the board. Callton said to include an invocation during a meeting does not require a vote by the commissioners. Callton said he will include an invocation, after the pledge of allegiance, on the next meeting agenda and will give Bremer the opportunity to give the invocation.

Perhaps, Mr. Bremer's request to say grace before meetings was sincere but I seem to remember the last time that sticky wicket reared it's ugly head, a former commissioner threw it out at a meeting in the midst of a political campaign to try to separate himself from an opponent he was trying to paint as too liberal. When this stuff comes up, even if it's brought up in a sincere, humble and tolerant way, it almost always gets used eventually by those who simply need a cheap and easy way to gain re-election. Let's hope this isn't the case no matter what the intent.

This year is full of challenges in West Michigan and across the country. Let's not get distracted by fights over who's invisible friend is stronger than who's when there is more serious work to attend to.