Governor to Obama Cabinet?

MLive carries an AP story speculating on Governor Granholm's future:

Granholm has made attracting wind turbine manufacturers and alternative energy suppliers a key part of her administration's economic development strategy. Now, some are speculating that could mean Obama might be interested in asking ask her to lead the federal Department of Energy.

The Canadian-born governor says she's ready to work with Obama as governor until her term expires in 2010, but hasn't ruled out leaving for Washington. She's also been mentioned as a possible U.S. Supreme Court justice if an opening arose.

Granholm is term-limited and this would be a perfect opportunity to find her next job and set up a successor. I've been saying for a while to anyone who would listen that Granholm would make a great Secretary of Energy given her focus on and knowledge of energy issues and how those issues affect the domestic auto industry. This would also give a successor a head start on a win in 2010 and help Democrats retain the governor's mansion (although a repeat run from DeVos would practically ensure that anyway).

EARTHQUAKE

This is what a landslide looks like....

Michigan 2004:



















Michigan 2008:



















Hat tip to Eclectablog

Election Day Night

WOOD TV is reporting they exit poll showing Proposal 1 and 2 both passing by a wide margin, also Obama winning huge in Michigan. 7th House district, the only competitive West Michigan national race is tight with Schauer looking to take the seat- hasn't been called yet but how can Walberg overcome such huge Dem margins? Levin, of course, romps to victory. Supreme Court justice Taylor going down in defeat?

Still waiting for local totals... looks like Yarger and Calley win?

The Detroit Free Press is keeping track of all of the State House races here.

Election day resources

Well, here we go!

During the day tommorow you may want to check in with electoral-vote.com, they have comprehensive coverage of polling results. Or if you are a numbers freak I highly recommend fivethirtyeight.com. They will make you wish you payed more attention in math class, but also make it fun with updates, and blog posts that always have something interesting.

For the evening a couple of things:

First, I recommend that you be prepared for the evening with a scorecard. The best that I have seen so far is the one-page downloaded crib sheet .pdf from Kos. I recommend you download it somewhere with a color printer as it will be much easier to decipher. For those of you so inclined the comprehensive Election Guide has much more to offer.
Secondly, when the polls close locally, the results by precinct will be available on .pdf format here at barrycounty.org.

Oh yeah! You may want to VOTE!

Proposal 2

PROPOSAL 08-2
A PROPOSAL TO AMEND THE STATE CONSTITUTION TO ADDRESS HUMAN
EMBRYO AND HUMAN EMBRYONIC STEM CELL RESEARCH IN MICHIGAN

The proposed constitutional amendment would:

• Expand use of human embryos for any research permitted under federal law subject to the following limits: the embryos --
-- are created for fertility treatment purposes;
-- are not suitable for implantation or are in excess of clinical needs;
-- would be discarded unless used for research;
-- were donated by the person seeking fertility treatment.
• Provide that stem cells cannot be taken from human embryos more than 14 days after cell division begins.
• Prohibit any person from selling or purchasing human embryos for stem cell research.
• Prohibit state and local laws that prevent, restrict or discourage stem cell research, future therapies and cures.

Should this proposal be adopted?

Yes!

The easiest way to explain this vote is compassion versus ignorance. Compassion means allowing scientific research to take place that can lead to new discoveries. A no vote, cast out of ignorance means you will let your personal religious beliefs trump the good of all society. The Catholic church hierarchy and Right to Life lobbyists are fighting this issue on religious and moral grounds which might make sense if these embryos were not already being destroyed. If the "no" voters really had any conviction they would have their own proposal on the ballot to outlaw fertility treatments and in vitro fertilization. Allowing this research shows we are a society of reason, science and compassion. There simply is no reason to vote no unless you think a frozen embryo on the way to a garbage can has more right to 'its" life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness than someone suffering from a curable disease that won't be saved because the Puritans, witch-hunters and forces of moral purity have allowed their unfounded fears to take precedence over reason, compassion and science yet again.

Bogeyman arguments and superstition have been used to squash science for centuries (anyone remember the black helicopter crowd opposing flouride in drinking water not too long ago?). Fortunately, over time most of these absurdities find their way into the dustbin of history, another example of our ignorant past. Basing your vote against such a well thought out proposal, on the plots of science fiction novels is silly. The thought of not using these embryos that are already being discarded to save human lives is ridiculous and certainly not a "pro-life" position, it's also not a pro-science position or even a pro-economy position. Michigan has the potential to continue to press its investment in life sciences to build an economy for the 21st century and this proposal is one more step in that direction. We would be allowing scientists the ability to recycle materials for the possible betterment of mankind.

There simply is not argument to not vote YES on proposal 2- it's a matter of compassion.

Proposal 1

PROPOSAL 08-1
A LEGISLATIVE INITIATIVE TO PERMIT THE USE AND CULTIVATION OF
MARIJUANA FOR SPECIFIED MEDICAL CONDITIONS

The proposed law would:

• Permit physician approved use of marijuana by registered patients with debilitating medical conditions including cancer, glaucoma, HIV, AIDS, hepatitis C, MS and other conditions as may be approved by the Department of Community Health.
• Permit registered individuals to grow limited amounts of marijuana for qualifying patients in an enclosed, locked facility.
• Require Department of Community Health to establish an identification card system for patients qualified to use marijuana and individuals qualified to grow marijuana.
• Permit registered and unregistered patients and primary caregivers to assert medical reasons for using marijuana as a defense to any prosecution involving marijuana.

Should this proposal be adopted?

YES

Marijuana benefits seriously-ill and terminally-ill patients in that it provides pain relief and appetite enhancement. Any arguments about a slippery slope are nothing more than scare tactics that have nothing to do with the proposal as it stands. Many people have died in the state of Michigan without the ability to gain benefit from a drug that has proven to be of help in ensuring pain, and nausea relief. Allowing someone to die in any form of discomfort that is preventable, is nothing short of cruel. Marijuana gives doctors the ability help their patients terminal, or not and standing in the way are outdated, and cruel federal and state laws that turn a blind eye to the suffering of many citizens.

DDA should ante up with facts

When the Hastings City Council decided they wanted to tear down the old library building, citizen outrage forced them to reconsider the fate of the library which also once housed the local post office. Now, the beautiful and historic brick building that some wanted to be a parking lot (in a town filled with empty parking lots and available retail space) may be sold to an unknown consortium who turned in their bid well past the deadline, beating out the county which had made repeated requests to negotiate purchase of the building and was rebuffed by the city time and again. Many feel the late bid was made on behalf of one of the losing bidders in an attempt to get around the request for proposal (RFP) and the city's own rules.

The county wanted to have room for future expansion and felt the old library building which is right across the street from the courthouse would serve the purpose well. In addition, the city had an opportunity to ensure that any future growth of the county offices would be enriching the city's downtown. More workers downtown means more sales for local merchants even if the property is officially off the tax rolls. For some reason it seems the DDA or the city council did not want the county to purchase the property. Some feel this is the latest attempt by the DDA to grow at the expense of what is good for all of Hastings. In fact, it has now come to light that the DDA isn't passing along money from millages that should be going to services for the elderly, public safety and historic preservation. Many believe the fact that the property wouldn't enrich the DDA if it was purchased by the county is the main reason the county's attempts to purchase the old library were ignored.

Some important questions need to be answered by the Hastings City Council members and the DDA:
• Has the DDA become a beast too large to control, demanding ever-more tax money and choking off important services to the public such as infrastructure spending and important services? • Did the DDA turn down the lucrative offer from the county just so a losing bidder could slip in a winning bid well past the deadline after some insider informed them of what it would take to outbid the county? • Did the DDA violate it's own rules in awarding the bid to Encore whose bid was not only seriously late but also laughably vague- especially when part of the rules stated that the project would be awarded based on the creativity of the proposal? • Did members of the DDA tamper with the process? • Did members of the DDA have any communication with people from Encore or other bidders that could have resulted in a tainted and unfair bidding process which violated not only the spirit of the RFP but the letter of it as well?

It sure seems the answer to most of those question is a resounding YES to anyone watching the process. This highly questionable act happened right out in the open and so far there hasn't been much noise about it yet from the public. The original attempt to bulldoze the building was stopped by local citizens, This must also surely be rejected by an even more vocal public. The next meeting of the city council would be the perfect opportunity for opponents of the bungled bidding process to attempt to stop this injustice.

When the city council next meets, citizens of Hastings should be ready again to tell their elected officials that they are wrong, that the process was rigged and that someone smells in Hastings. The DDA is seriously out of control, attempting to become an independent government free from oversight, capturing valuable tax revenue and spending it on frills while the city infrastructure outside the DDA crumbles. Citizens with decaying curbs and gutters have serious reservations that the DDA has over-stepped it's bounds one too many times, that some people are power hungry and that the beast known as the DDA is choking off the oxygen to the rest of the city.

Many feel that the Encore proposal is really just a backdoor for the Gilmore Group, known for high end restaurants in West Michigan. This speculation increased when the secret plan hinted that it would require a large number of parking space for a business that would employ few full time employees. Many also worry that Hastings would gain a restaurant and perhaps lose 1-2 of it's existing restaurants. Should the DDA be trying to attract businesses that compete with existing business owners or should they be trying to find new ventures that would complement what we already have? For a town of modest means, Hastings has more than enough fine dining opportunities. What Hastings needs is more workers downtown to fill those restaurants during the lunch hours and more families in the city that can afford to frequent those places for dinner.

And now, out comes word that a city official accidentally slipped during a private conversation last week. A source told me that this public person talked as if Encore was one and the same as Gilmore. Perhaps it was a slip of the tongue and perhaps it was a Fruedian slip- a "tell" in the parlance of the poker tables. It's time for citizens to ask questions, to call their bluff.