Nine Won One more time...

When I wrote my last post to this blog a little over a month ago, I guessed that the blaring news headlines of a new rock solid set of charges against our much-maligned Barry County 911 director would likely vaporize into little more than the newest chapter of the long saga of The Wall of Blue - the system that Mr. Nystrom has used time and time again to attack his accusers and shield himself from the prying eyes of the public. Last year I wrote my first post on Director Nystrom's ability to avoid punishment for his many misdeeds and here we are today with some still not realizing that the very illegal or unethical payments Mr. Nystrom is accused of making to his dispatchers is part of that Wall. How ironic is it that the very people we are supposed to call when we are being robbed are the ones who are picking our pockets?

Very simply for those who still can't grasp the basic facts in this case: Why would anyone rat out the guy who's been giving them taxpayer money that they hadn't earned and weren't entitled to receive? How many of those people would go public, knowing that not only would they likely have to pay that money back but that they'd also have to answer why they took it in the first place? Why did those payments take place in a manner not exactly legal or ethical when there would have been almost no objection from any quarter had they been necessary and well-earned?

That Nystrom's defenders have no answers for any of those questions leaves me convinced that the taxpayers of Barry County just got screwed again. It's in many ways similar to the way Scooter Libby obstructed justice by lying before a Grand Jury in the CIA leak case and then got his sentence commuted by the very forces his lies were helping to protect- how do you prosecute a case when all the witnesses are willing to lie and their lies are condoned by the people in power that they are protecting?

I find it almost surreal that most of Nystrom's defenders have used the line that he personally didn't benefit from the misuse of public funds- as if stealing from someone is OK as you long as you don't keep the money. Is it much of a stretch to understand that those payments are obviously part of his system of favors and punishment that the director has used to keep his Wall intact? While there is no doubt many incorrect allegations have been hurled at the director, it's also true that men and women of reason have to be able to separate unrelated arguments, and the truth or falsehood of the most recent allegations have nothing to do with past incidents, investigations and cover-ups.

The real problem here is that the public has been robbed not just once, but twice. First, Nystrom took money (correct me if I'm wrong, but I've seen very few people argue- even Nystrom himself- against the actual charges but instead they choose to dismiss it as just being nice to public employees who worked hard to keep us safe which has nothing to do with Nystrom's guilt or innocence but makes a neat way to deflect attacks without really mustering a real defense) which was not his to spend on dubious overtime expenses which had no reason to exist "off the books" other than to serve as hush money and to protect his personal fiefdom. Second, Nystrom has received a generous payoff which is his own hush fund, given to him by his long-time enablers on the County 911 Board- the very people who should have discovered the misappropriation of public money and DONE SOMETHING about it! This smacks of yet another corrupt crony Christmas gift which seems to be a proud tradition in local politics. I'm not sure what is more offensive- the bribe to go away quietly or the fact that so many prominent figures are forcing us to eat this turd and tell us how good it tastes!

That the voters have been let down by their elected leaders is the real story. Once again, instead of doing what was right, Nystrom and the 911 Board have failed in their duty to wisely use taxpayer money for the greater good. Nystrom's payments to dispatchers could have been done through legal and ethical means, but they weren't and he should have to face consequences for those actions instead of receiving an early retirement gift and a loud and boisterous defense from his pack of enablers who hide behind talking point as if they were members of the Bush administration- how many more times do we have to hear any complain about our County 911 system countered by the old saw that "we have the best system in the state." Talking points work best when they confuse the issue and distract people from the real matter.

Finally, it seems like we've been most let down by a County Prosecutor who I warned was not up to the job from what I saw in the election campaign. Prosecutor Evans led with his chin and got sent to the mat. Whatever his motives or reason for going public with the case when he chose, it now appears obvious he wasn't ready to press charges. He now seems to be hinting he and the Sheriff will not sign off on the deal, which has been called a golden parachute in the local paper's editorial. I have no sympathy for Prosecutors who choose to try their case in public- it's one of the reasons voters sent a previous prosecutor packing. Evan's opponent likely lost because she was seen as too close to the corrupt system voters were already tired of. But if Evans is unable to effectively manage a case of public corruption then what good is he? Perhaps the biggest lesson from all this is that sometimes people just aren't up the job and that being incompetent is perhaps just as bad or even worse than being corrupt.

If voters want to take their anger out on anyone over this, how about the 911 Board which has always defended Nystrom, instead of doing their job to protect the public from waste, fraud, corruption and abuse? I'd suggest starting with Nystrom's loudest defender, Hastings Township Supervisor Jim Brown. This Brownie is not doing a "heckuva job" since he's loudly trying to tell us what a good deal we got. The only way it would be a good deal is if Brown himself resigned or if the sensible voters of Hastings Township started making some noise about their elected official's involvement in defending the misuse of public funds. I know there's a remedy for when elected officials shirk their responsibility to the public, do you recall? Hastings Township voters are in a unique position to have their voices heard on this issue and they should let Jim Brown know his days of defending the misuse of their money are over.

And should anyone still be confused- acquittal, or lack of prosecution, does not equal innocence. Since OJ Simpson never got convicted does that mean he didn't kill two people? Ken Lay never served a day in prison but he's still known as the guy who defrauded Enron investors. The people who see the lack of prosecution as evidence of innocence need to understand that there is no connection between the two, except that it's one more sign the Wall of Blue is still holding strong.

Humpty Dumpty fell off the wall

If you live in Barry County or if you've been reading this blog, chances are you know a little bit about the controversy over our County 911 Director, Charlie Nystrom. Nystrom has been charged with wrong doing in the past but nothing has ever seemed to stick. Today, Nystrom was placed on one week of administrative leave due to Prosecutor Tom Evans alleging Nystrom gave several 911 employees overtime pay which they were not entitled to to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars of taxpayer money.

In previous instances, Nystrom has been accused of much but there was always a lack of solid proof, a "blue wall" of defenders and a feeling that the accusations from some were nothing more than a combination of personality conflicts, sour grapes and small town politics. However, if the allegations presented by Evans and Sheriff Dar Leaf turn out to be true, Nystrom's critics will finally be vindicated.

In the past Nystrom has personally tried to defend himself on this blog and the Barry Home Companion in the guise of "Truthseeker," often by accusing me of being part of the local paper which has been a fierce and unrelenting critic of Nystrom, even after he was cleared of other allegations in a probe by the Michigan State Police. Nystrom used the investigation's result as a way to portray himself as the victim of a witch hunt conducted by the paper and this blog.

However, the State Police probe was discounted by many in the community due to Nystrom's close ties to many State Police, including former post commander and current 911 Board Chair Ron Neil. In fact, when the 911 board allowed Nystrom's lawyer access to his office, it conveniently was Neil who was allowed to escort him. It's amazing to me that no one else on the board saw the potential for mischief and forced someone more impartial to take part in the visit. I can't help but wonder if once again the wall surrounding Nystrom will protect him and keep the truth from coming out.

Despite the media coverage I can't help but feel like I've seen this film before. The allegations once again sound grave but Evans has yet to press any charges and hints he may not, despite his calling this a case of "embezzlement." At this point, despite having gone public with the inflammatory charge, the investigation has only interviewed a mere 2 of 11 dispatchers. Eyewitness accounts from today's meeting has said that Evans and Leaf were less than convincing in their presentations. Could it be that once again critics of Nystrom have gone public with their allegations without enough evidence to convict?

I'd like to think that this time the people responsible for defending their claims will have the weight of evidence on their side. And this time, I'm hoping that those who've spent so much time defending Nystrom finally decide to do right by the citizens of this county, who deserve to have their public officials be watch dogs in the use of tax dollars, not using it to pay off their buddies and buy their silence. The most recent allegations against Nystrom could be the final crack in the Wall of Blue or All the King's Men just might find a way to fix their boss and return to business as usual.

Death by Diet Coke?

I was going to send this link via email to a circle of friends and family, knowing most of them would probably ignore it among the mass of jokes and cute pictures and "male enhancement" emails clogging up their in boxes and then I realized that I should reward the regular readers of this site awaiting a new post.

Anyway, I hate to join the latest health scare panic as I usually find that the stories don't hold up to their initial promise, but this latest disturbing health study seems part of a pattern to me...

Caution: Some soft drinks may seriously harm your health
Expert links additive to cell damage
By Martin Hickman, Consumer Affairs Correspondent
Published: 27 May 2007

A new health scare erupted over soft drinks last night amid evidence they may cause serious cell damage. Research from a British university suggests a common preservative found in drinks such as Fanta and Pepsi Max has the ability to switch off vital parts of DNA.

The problem - more usually associated with ageing and alcohol abuse - can eventually lead to cirrhosis of the liver and degenerative diseases such as Parkinson's.

(snip)

Sodium benzoate has already been the subject of concern about cancer because when mixed with the additive vitamin C in soft drinks, it causes benzene, a carcinogenic substance. A Food Standards Agency survey of benzene in drinks last year found high levels in four brands which were removed from sale.

Now, an expert in ageing at Sheffield University, who has been working on sodium benzoate since publishing a research paper in 1999, has decided to speak out about another danger. Professor Peter Piper, a professor of molecular biology and biotechnology, tested the impact of sodium benzoate on living yeast cells in his laboratory. What he found alarmed him: the benzoate was damaging an important area of DNA in the "power station" of cells known as the mitochondria.

The FDA has become a joke and whether it's Chinese food unfit for animal or human consumption or killer pharmaceuticals released without proper testing (at the same time they tell you that you can't get them from Canada because it might not be safe or that if you smoke pot you are a dangerous criminal who will end up stupid and forgetful).

Maybe it's time to write your Congressman or one of your two Senators:

The FDA normally inspects about 1 percent of all food and food ingredients at U.S. borders. It does tests on about half of 1 percent.

And official vigilance has been going down — for two reasons.

First, food imports have increased dramatically, from $45 billion in 2003 to $64 billion three years later.

Second, the "food" part of the FDA has been getting smaller.

After all, if you're not testing for it, it's easy to say there's no problem since it hasn't been caught. I'm sick of poisonous products being pumped out for corporate profit without regard to the many lives affected. Our current system has failed to protect the public and it's because we've handed the keys to our country over to people who only care about their own bottom line and have managed to gut the FDA's power to properly inspect our food and drug supply:

Earlier this year, lead-contaminated multivitamins showed up on the shelves of U.S. retailers. And this spring, vitamin A from China contaminated with dangerous bacteria nearly ended up in European baby food.

It's bound to happen more often. Hubbard says the agency is overwhelmed by the rising tide of imports.

"When I came to the FDA in the 1970s, the food program was almost half of the FDA's budget. Today, it's only a quarter," Hubbard says.

Experts say the FDA has about 650 food inspectors to cover 60,000 domestic food producers and 418 ports of entry.

The agency plans to close nearly half of its 13 food-testing labs.

Yes, it seems as if they want to make the companies themselves responsible for their own testing. The reason we have an FDA is because we know what happens when companies are in charge of overseeing the safety of their own products without government "interference" and "over regulation." Anyone remember the Ford Pinto's exploding gas tank?

In the 1970s Ralph Nader warned of and tried to do something about the fact that airlines needed to strengthen their cockpit doors as a means to help defend against plane hijackings, a warning which went unheeded due to the airlines' insistence that such a regulation would be burdensome to the industry. Anyone care to "connect the dots" there? If our government would have insisted on public safety maybe the public wouldn't have had to write a $15 billion check after 9/11? Also, we likely wouldn't have started a bogus invasion of a foreign country, leading to a bloody and costly occupation.

We now a see a pattern of a political philosophy that sees government as the problem when in fact, in the case of food and drug safety, it's the lack of government that is a problem. Without rigid regulations, stiff inspections and serious penalties for failure to meet a proper standard, we will continue to have to take our lives into our own hands when we sit down at our dinner table or when we pop a pill.

The bad idea that won't die

While a noble band of local folks have been waging a grass-roots campaign to try to stop a Super Wal-Mart from being constructed just outside the Hastings city limits, Hastings City and Rutland Township officials have been quietly negotiating a deal with the giant retailer. Citizens: Prepare thyselves for Wal-Mart’s presence near the corner of Green Street and Cook Road in Rutland Township. Back-room politics appear to be winning yet another battle in hyper capitalism’s war on the unwary working middle class.

Forget the fact that a horde of local citizens cheered when the Rutland Township Planning Commission voted unanimously in March against recommending Wal-Mart’s request for mixed use zoning to accommodate the project. Forget the fact the Rutland Township Board last month voted 4-3 in the face of public opposition to have another traffic study done, effectively delaying Wal-Mart’s request to get started on a "super" shopping center. Forget what you heard about the Super Wal-Mart plan being dead. Like a movie monster, this bad idea just keeps getting up again in order to continue scaring the villagers...

The crucial argument against Super Wal-Mart’s location selection has been the nature of Green Street, residential, too narrow and too close to a hospital that needs quick ingress and egress for emergency vehicles. The secondary argument against the world’s largest retailer is its awful habit of ruining small communities by sucking the life out of downtowns, forcing taxpayers to widen roads and provide infrastructure as a result of Wal-Mart’s mere presence and the retail giant’s penchant for locating just outside the city limits and in the adjacent township to avoid paying higher city taxes (in Hastings the levy is 16.2 mills, in Rutland, it’s one measly mill).

Several city and township officials, through private negotiations, apparently have cut off the traffic argument at the pass with a novel idea: Closing Green Street just to the west of Pennock Hospital and Fish Hatchery Park, thereby countering claims Green is too narrow and the hospital can’t absorb increase in traffic. Meanwhile, it seems people then could get to Wal-Mart from Cook Road and the portion of Green that runs from Cook east from the M-37/M-43 traffic light that was necessitated by the current existing Wal-Mart and paid for by taxpayer dollars.

I’ve always said one of the most important functions of government is to solve problems, and a few city and township officials seem to feel they’ve done just that. They’ve found a way to avoid potential costly litigation at the hands of the second richest company in the world, second only to Exxon/Mobil. And they didn’t get that way by just being the benevolent smily-face falling prices public relations fantasy baloney they’ve fed us for so long. They’ve gotten where they are by bullying backwoods rube governments with little courage and not enough knowledge or money to stand up to them. They’ve climbed to the top on the backs of poor Third World workers who ultimately are doing what many Americans used to do, only much cheaper and under conditions more foul than the sweatshops of late 19th Century America in the era of robber barons. They’ve used cut-throat tactics to sell their products for less and eliminate competition, which is supposed to be the cornerstone of the free market enterprise system.

But it seems too many consumers examine only what’s right in front of them, the low price, while ignoring the man behind the curtain who hopes someday to be the only seller left standing so he can name whatever price he wishes. Some letter writers to the local newspaper call this process “progress” for Hastings and Barry County. I call it a giant step back into the early 20th century before Theodore Roosevelt and the Progressive Era put a stop to it.

So city and township officials seem to have found a way to let Wal-Mart in the back door. And they’ll probably tell us they were forced to, they couldn’t legally stop the world’s largest retailer. At the risk of invoking Godwin's Law, I sentence Jim Carr, Jeff Mansfield and a few other sellouts to study the story of the Munich Conference in 1938, when British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain gave away the Sudetenland to Adolf Hitler, declaring “Peace in Our Time.”

And I challenge the many people who live here to engage in a serious boycott of ever buying anything at Wal-Mart. If your local elected officials won’t stand up for you, you’re going to have to resort to the only weapon you have left: “Vote with your pocketbook.”

And I challenge the readers of this blog to call up their local representatives and let them know that if they don't support local businesses and citizens, maybe those businesses and citizens won't support them when they run for re-election. Don't let Barry County join the race to the bottom we like to call "globalization." Don't let back door deals override the will of the people. And don't let the politicians forget that they can get "downsized" when they don't defend the working class that pays their salaries and votes them in or out of office.

And for any politician or citizen who wants to do the right thing and fight Wal-Mart, please click go to Wal-Mart Watch's BattleMart page.

Tax cutting the trees down

I'm sure many people didn't give much though to a recent story about the city of Grand Rapids being forced to cut down dozens of ash trees due to the spread of the invasive pest, the Emerald Ash Borer but I think it's something you should pay attention to. Millions of trees are being killed by this pest but efforts to contain its spread were cut:

In April 2003, the state cut down more than 15,000 trees in Wyoming as a part of a federally-funded eradication effort. But over the last two years, the feds cut funding for the program and by the time trees in Cascade Township were found with it last June, the state had already decided to concentrate their efforts on other parts of Michigan. That means local municipalities and property owners are on their own.

"They've left basically this side of the state to deal with the problem," said Public Works Director Patrick Bush.

I'm sure some people will dismiss this as not a major news story but imagine streets lined with large, stately trees that the city of Grand Rapids is now going to have to replace:

Heartwell said the city's 7,000 ash trees are at risk because of the invasive species of beetle whose larvae feed on the inner bark of ash trees, disrupting the tree's ability to transport water and nutrients.

"This is significant," Heartwell said. "It's going to change the face of Grand Rapids."

Last fall, the city unveiled a plan to replace all the city's ash trees over the next 10 years. The plan is expected to cost between $7 million and $12 million.

Imagine the quality of life in those neighborhoods that will be lost, the higher heating and cooling bills due to the loss of shade and windbreak. These seem like silly concerns because our society often dismisses things that no one is able to package and sell in a sound byte. But also add up the tax dollars that need to be spent to deal with the problem and the loss of home value in the neighborhoods defined by streets lined with beautiful trees. Federal and state government should have been managing the crisis before it got out of hand but instead they passed it off to overwhelmed local officials and homeowners. Now communities all over are dealing with the problem and who knows how much money it will cost in the long run because government didn't wisely allocate its resources and people weren't willing to support the programs needed to avoid this problem.

And why couldn't we have just spent the money to deal with the problem in the first place? Because some people would cry about tax dollars being "wasted fighting bugs." I think they're just greedy, the same kind of greed that says a person with mental or physical problems should be forced to go out and earn a living instead of getting a "handout." The starve the beast and drown government in the bathtub crowd doesn't care about those that can't help themselves. They don't want to pay for mental institutions or welfare agencies, food stamps or Head Start. They don't mind taxes for roads, mostly torn up by the big trucks that take merchandise from one rich man's warehouse to another. They don't mind taxes to pay for big stadiums where they have luxury boxes. And they don't mind paying taxes for airports where they can fly their private planes. But taxes to fight bugs are a sign of bloated bureaucracy and if only we'd "trim the fat" we'd balance the state budget and everything would be fine.

Once again, I remind you of Howard Wolpe's famous words: "Read my lips, raise YOUR taxes." Feel good tax cuts are passed by politicians which mostly benefit the wealthiest Americans but then spend whatever it takes on a war without end or even a reason. We pass the burden down to the people least able to deal with it while the rich and powerful party away. They always cry "class warfare" whenever anyone brings up the widening imbalance between rich and poor in America and usually they manage to force people to back down. But change is coming...

The poor are finally waking to the fact that as they are told their kids' schools may have to shut early, luxury yacht owners can't find a slip for their million dollar toys. While people grumble yet pay their dues to the federal government, the rich hide behind tax shelters and then try to convince you they're being over-burdened. Well, that's too bad for them because I thought we "are all hurting" yet the rich are making more and more money every year while our services are being cut.

Sadly, most people don't seem to get it. I guess it's easier to blame the guy who's in between jobs or to shift the burden to the single mom who left her abusive boyfriend and now has to support her and her kid. Maybe it takes a little intelligence to think in the long term instead of seeking immediate gratification. Maybe it's asking to much for people to see the forest for the trees.

We've been seriously ignoring our long-term problems while relying on short term thinking and feel good solutions to complex issues. We can continue to ignore the warning signs: the dead trees, the potholes in the road, the closed school buildings and the workers headed out of state or we can understand that the paid lobbyists have bought our government and are going to keep squeezing as much money out of it as they can. Meanwhile, you wonder why they're closing schools and hospitals. But don't worry, this is just a story about a couple of dead trees...

Building a better blog

I’ve been delighted that County Board of Commissioners Chairman Mike Callton decided to get into the blogging game with the “Barry Home Companion” blog in order to add another voice to serious cyberspace political and social commentary about Barry County and West Michigan. Dr. Callton, with a nod to Goldilocks and maybe Fox News, has billed his forum as “not too liberal, not too conservative, but just right,” but the Barry Home Companion has fallen victim, as many other blogs have, including this one at times, to the scourge of anonymity and its use as a way to hurl mud at political opponents, particularly the use of sexual innuendo to slime a public official. There’s absolutely nothing anonymous in the featured postings clearly identified as to who their authors are: Callton himself, State Rep. Brian Calley, Commissioner Jeff VanNortwick and Chuck Reid, a County Commission watchdog, all have written opinion pieces, giving the blog variety, a different approach than my lone wolf style and one that I enjoy reading.

However, comments in reaction to postings sometimes have gotten out of hand, just like they did too often on West Michigan Politics a while back. Buoyed by their anonymity, some people have made outrageous, questionable and personal attacks on public figures. I suppose this too often is a big risk when setting up and running a blog that invites everyone to the table to speak their minds.

Because of the nefarious nature of certain anonymous claims on this blog in bygone days, I changed my policy by not allowing anyone to post simply as “anonymous.” My compromise was that comment contributors must consistently use a handle in order to be able to post. And since I'm limited by the tools Blogspot and Google offer for free, I felt this was the best decision. Granted, those sending comments still don’t have to identify themselves by their real names, but with a particular handle, it becomes a lot easier to have back and forth debate and some people eventually give themselves away under their pseudonyms of choice. It's also easier for people to gauge how they line up with an author's point of view through repeated exposure to their signed blog posts and it works as a check against people saying things they might otherwise say if they were one of a number of comments listed as "anonymous."

I hereby ask Dr. Callton, customarily a reasonable man, to eliminate all anonymous commentary on his blog, to use his authority to block scurrilous charges and suggestions from these secret snipers who don’t have the guts to join the cyber discussion with at least a nom de plume of some kind so that others may judge their record of posts and encourage a responsible and civil discussion. I think automatically turning away anonymous commentary will cut down on the more outrageous tabloid-style attacks we have to endure in our laudable never-ending efforts for political discourse outside the usual channels. It won't end it, but those now more rare out of bounds comments can be deleted by the moderator. I have even cut out an offending comment and re-pasted the rest of the author's post when I felt they'd crossed a line but the rest of the comment was worthy of discussion.

I also believe Commission Callton should set a higher standard simply because he's a public official. He already got in some hot water for having the blog linked to an official government web site which he has since rectified. But by having his name on the blog and because of his status as a public official, his opponents or those trying to damage his reputation or the power of his blog can use these gutter tactics against him by attaching him to the attacks. I think it's in his own best interest to clamp down a bit but not so much as to completely stifle discussion and dissent. Some will cry censorship but that rare minority is likely to be the one most willing to use anonymous attacks for character assassination.

When I started my blog, it was my intention to have debate, discourse and discussion about political issues crucial to people who live in Barry County and West Michigan, issues that might not be seriously discussed in traditional media formats because of fear of reprisal. I developed West Michigan Politics as a haven for that discussion. It may not be the perfect forum but I've done my best to live up to my own high standards. I admit to being a flawed person, an amateur political commentator who has made mistakes in my judgment and my grammar and not always lived up to my own intent and potential. My intention is not to promote the sleazy, slimy and salacious, it is, rather to promote a truly open, honest and illuminating discussion that the traditional media dare not offer. It is with humility and respect that I beseech Dr. Callton to do the same.

Tim's tantrum: Is Walberg worried?

Poor Congressman Tim Walberg (R-Tipton) is starting to show the strains of being a radical right winger whose record of over-heated rhetoric and crass campaigning is catching up with him. It seems the Battle Creek Enquirer's Assistant Local Editor Susan Demas has offended poor Timmy by actually reporting the truth, that former Congressman Joe Schwarz is hanging around Battle Creek and leaving open the possibility for a rematch against Walberg, who defeated Schwarz in the last primary election mostly with slash and burn attack ads against "liberal" Joe Schwarz paid for with dough from anti-tax zealots but then narrowly beat out a weak Democratic candidate with zero money and little or no support from the party. Timmy's response to the horrible truth was to cut the reporter from their media spam list...

"I took you off the (media) list," his spokesman, Matt Lahr, informed me this month, "because the congressman has decided he will no longer talk to you."

Demas' response is both devastating and hilarious:

It's not personal. It's just a bad public relations move, typical of a staff composed of 20-something "Jesus Camp" counselors who almost managed to lose the general election to Sharon Renier, a chicken farmer with $1.03 in the bank.

They're not ready for primetime.

Walberg is the Congressional equivalent to those Pat Robertson Law School grads stinking it up in the Justice Department courtesy of soon-to-be outgoing Attorney General Alberto "What did I know and when did I know it" Gonzalez.