Whitecaps - Maybin slams the Lugnuts
And this is the picture of the actual swing on that grand slam...


Kind of noisy- the light is gone this time of year at the night games. (low light= more noise on your digital camera)

Tonight is the last home game of the regular season, so I won't bore you political junkies with baseball stuff anymore pretty soon. Humor me for now.

COMSTOCK PARK – Cameron Maybin jump started the Whitecaps offense and became the first Whitecap ever to hit two grand slams in one season as West Michigan rolled past Lansing, 9-3.

Following a lead off single by Cory Middleton and back-to-back walks issued by Hector Delgadillo, Maybin poked the slam down the left field line to put West Michigan on top, 4-1 in the bottom of the third.

Maybin also hit a grand slam at Dayton on June 10. It was the fourth Whitecaps grand slam of the season.

Three Whitecaps hit sacrifice flies in the game: Middleton, Mike Hernandez and Will Rhymes as West Michigan moved to an 8-1 lead after six innings.

Matt O’Brien pitched seven innings as the starting pitcher for the ‘Caps and allowed just one run on eight hits and a walk to earn his second victory in three starts for West Michigan. Paul Hammond earned his first Midwest League save by retiring all four batters he faced to end the game.

Playoffs begin Sept. 7th. After that, they will be gone and I will be sad and then I will have to go back to yelling at the Republicans. Or the Lions. Whoever bugs me the most.

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New ad from Granholm out today
Another low-key ad. Not sure what to make of these, to be honest. They do grab your attention due to the fact that they are low-key, not screaming at you like conventional advertising does. Is that what they are going for? I honestly don't know. The blue jacket works better than the black- and the voice is perfect. I think the Guv missed her calling as a DJ. ;-)

Zack has a YouTube version here; for whatever reason YouTube slows this blog way down so I can't post it. Check it out.

New ad from Stabenow out also, it's available here. It basically expands on the last one.

I have a new-found appreciation for Debbie Stabenow. She was just here in GR the other day to give a short pep-talk/rally for the local troops...



... and she came across as so... real. I can't put it any better than that. Most of the time politicians seem so guarded and scripted. I understand why they have to be that way, but still... it's nice to see them as normal human beings every once in awhile.

Stabenow will be on To The Point Sunday at 10am. Wasn't that nice of Rick to stick her on in the middle of Labor Day weekend? Fortunately they put it up on the 'net- you can catch the show anytime after it airs here.

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Dick's Empty Building Revisited - Former Lear plant to create hundreds of jobs
Remember this gloomy shot from one of Dick's first commercials?

WALKER-- It's more than 700-thousand square feet on 42 acres. The massive facility along Walker's Alpine Avenue, once home to the Lear Automotive plant, is in line for a major facelift. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality announced Wednesday, plans to loan the City of Walker one million dollars for cleanup and renovation. The city is contracting Blue Bridge Ventures and partners to do the work.

It already has one tenant...

The goal is to make the structure ready to house additional tenants to neighbor with the Amstore Company. Amstore produces retail store shelving and currently occupies 450 square feet of the old Lear Plant.

... and the cleanup will lead to hundreds of jobs as the rest of the building is sold off.

"This project will create between 500 and 1,000 industrial jobs," says DEQ Director Steven E. Chester during a tour of the Walker plant on Wednesday. "It's going to provide the kid of economic stimulus you are all hoping for in this area."

The new owner wants to divide the factory into smaller units and lease or sell the spaces to industrial companies.

It will revitalize the whole area, which really isn't in bad shape to begin with. Alpine Ave. to the north of the Lear plant is already packed with national name retailers and restaurants.

Once it's clean and occupied leaders believe the former Lear plant will anchor economic development all along Alpine Avenue.

They say it will be an economic stimulus on nearby under utilized land between Grand Rapids and Walker they call "Grand-Walk".

"If we can use this as a successful example of sustainable redevelopment then that is going to send a strong message to other people," says Rick Chapla of the Right Place, Inc.

"We'll make this site the anchor of economic revitalization and job creation in West Michigan," says Walker mayor Robert VerHeulen.

Moral of the story? Don't let doom-and-gloom Dick fool you.

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Lawmakers reach deal to fix consequence of minimum wage raise

But the Merit Award will have to wait because Craig DeRoche is a real sweetheart and wants to make it ever so much better for everyone involved.

Yeah. I'll bet. Sure would love to know what is going on with this- maybe Skubick will have the goods for me.

LANSING, Mich. -- Salespeople, truckers and other workers will remain ineligible for overtime pay when the state's minimum wage rises in October after lawmakers brokered a deal Wednesday that includes a tax credit for low-income workers and a lower minimum wage for teenagers.

The Republican-controlled Legislature unanimously approved parts of the legislation after finishing negotiations with Democrats and Gov. Jennifer Granholm. The Senate also voted 36-2 to increase the Merit Award college scholarship in hopes of boosting momentum for a compromise on that front by year's end.

The deal mostly maintains the status quo by keeping various workers exempt from overtime, though home health care and day care workers would now become eligible _ a request by Democrats.

Both Democrats and Republicans praised the bill allowing low-income workers to qualify for a state earned-income tax credit on top of the existing federal earned-income tax credit. The credit would start at 10 percent in 2008 and rise to 20 percent in 2009.

Granholm and House Democratic Leader Dianne Byrum of Onondaga said the tax credit is a victory for working families, and Senate Minority Leader Bob Emerson called it a tool to fight poverty.

"Michigan is not a high tax state for everyone, but we do tax poor people too much," said Emerson, D-Flint. "This bill is a major step in making our tax structure less regressive."

OK, good deal, especially if we let people know it's available and help them apply for it.

Back to the scholarship-

While the Merit Award bill isn't directly part of the deal, the Senate's vote signals it could be an important topic later this year.

The Merit Award now gives up to $3,000 spread over the first two years of college to students who perform well on state standardized tests in high school and middle school.

Under the plan, students who do well on the tests would get $1,000 for each of their first two years of college or technical training, then $2,000 more if they finish the two years. Those whose test scores aren't good enough to earn the money up front could still get the full $4,000 if they finish two years of higher education.

DeRoche said the House plan "is to go further" and at the same time make the plan affordable and funded for the long term for the state.

"We have some things to contribute," DeRoche said. "I think the governor and the Senate welcome those ideas, and we'll work together this fall."

Forgive me for not trusting Mr. DeRoche (ha ha), but this is quite the 180 from his previous statements. I need someone to define "fall" and "year's end" for me. Are we talking after the election? Just like the work on the SBT? Wait until after people vote and then tell them what we are going to do? Or does this need to be done by a certain time after the Senate passes it?

Peter Luke seems to think it's going to be later rather than sooner.

House Republicans, who are exploring a different way to expand the scholarship, may not take up the issue until after the November election

.

"I think we need to be putting more money into scholarships," Sikkema said. "The House is looking at something more expansive. That's why this is really a work in progress."

Unless I hear otherwise, it's going on the DeVos list of Stupid Legislator Tricks.

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Michigan's Web site wins top award
Cool. I've always found it very easy to navigate and aesthetically pleasing, too.

LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- The official Web site of Michigan state government has been named the best state government Web portal in the country by the California-based Center for Digital Government.

The Center for Digital Government is recognized as a leading national research and advisory institute on information technology, according to the Michigan Department of Information Technology, which oversees state Web sites and state services and products offered over the Web.

"We set a goal to make state government more accessible for citizens and friendlier for businesses, and this award shows the great progress we have made," Gov. Jennifer Granholm said Tuesday in a news release.

The state's Web site, http://www.michigan.gov, offers access to government agencies and provides more than 200 interactive online services. It includes podcasts, foreign language translations and ways to get information through wireless portable devices.

Check out the Michigan Photo Gallery. All I need is this camera and I could do that too!

Kidding- but it would be nice. Gotta get back to my hobbies and get the politicians out of my head every once in awhile.

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DeVos blocking Merit Award Scholarship for political purposes?
According to Tim Skubick, "some theorize" that Dick DeVos is instructing Craig DeRoche to block the deal that would fix the minimum wage/overtime law and give college students $4000 for the Merit Scholarship just to deny Granholm a "win". If this is true, that means that DeVos is willing to hurt both business and college students for his own personal gain.

Given Dick and Betsy's past history of playing games with the legislature for the sole purpose of attempting to thwart Granholm, this would come as no surprise. They did it with SBT reform last year, they did it with welfare reform this year. The legislature is apparently intimidated enough by the DeVos' that they bow to their every wish; one wonders if their constituents ever factor into the equation.

For this latest attempt, let's go to the video tape.

Skubick: The fly in the ointment apparently is the Republican speaker, who is reluctant to make a deal. He says he's open to it, but hasn't signed off yet. Some theorize that the Republican candidate for Governor has told the Republican speaker to block the deal because it gives the Governor a win.

Granholm: You mean like he did on the SBT?

Skubick: Are you saying that he did on this? Governor? Hello?

Granholm: (walks away) No, I don't know.

Watch the clip for that interesting exchange.

Some back-story to set the stage. April 13th, when the flaw in the minimum wage bill was "discovered"-

Ari Adler, spokesman for Senate Republicans, said it's not certain that the new minimum wage law will require overtime pay for now-exempt workers. But he added, "If it's interpreted differently and it becomes an issue, then we'll look at addressing it."

House Republicans were aware of the bill's impact on overtime -- business groups quietly cautioned them -- but they decided to pass it quickly and deal later with fallout, said GOP spokesman Matt Resch.

Republicans knew the flaw was there, and ignored it in their haste to eliminate an issue that would drive people to the polls for a ballot proposal.

Granholm has been calling for a raise on the Merit Award Scholarship for quite some time. When it came up in June, Republicans had this to say-

"The governor's proposal is not acceptable and needs more discussion," Sikkema, R-Wyoming, said in a statement. "I'm willing to work with her on this, but we haven't made any progress because she has yet to find a way to pay for it or address the other problems."

Matt Resch, spokesman for Republican House Speaker Craig DeRoche of Novi, called the Granholm plan "irresponsible" because it is too expensive.

Giving kids more money for school? Irresponsible. But cutting $2 billion out of the budget without a way to "pay for it"? Not a problem.

Only in DeRoche Land does that make any sense.

A week later, Sikkema offered up the scholarship raise as a trade for cutting off the poor and an adjustment to teacher's health benefits.

Republican Senate Majority Leader Ken Sikkema said Wednesday he would consider approving Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm's plan to give college students $4,000 scholarships if she would agree to a limit on welfare benefits and a change in health care plans for teachers.

No dice, obviously, and an insane proposition in the first place. Sikkema knew this wouldn't fly; why did he even bother?

By Aug. 10th, Ken was ready to "be bold" and cut a deal.

Bumping up college scholarships and offering an earned-income tax credit would hit the state budget, Sikkema said. But he added in a statement: "I am willing to put them forward because both have enormous potential. Let's be bold and move our state forward."

Sikkema is ready to go, DeRoche is holding up both money for college kids and a solution to a problem that he created in the first place.

The question is- is he doing it under orders from DeVos? Although Skubick presents this as a "theory", Dick's past behavior would indicate it is a very real possibility.

And, if this is true, then once again the lives of the people in this state are not a concern for DeVos or the Republicans. College students, business owners, and the poor are nothing but cannon fodder for those who would use them for their own egotistical power grabs rather than having consideration for the well-being of ordinary citizens and the progress of our state.

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Judge rules anti-affirmative-action proposal can stay on ballot
It was proved that they committed fraud, but that's OK because you can vote against it later? Does that make any sense?

DETROIT (AP) — A federal judge on Tuesday allowed an anti-affirmative-action proposal to go before Michigan voters, rejecting arguments that it won a place on the November ballot through widespread, racially targeted fraud.

U.S. District Judge Arthur Tarnow, in a 34-page ruling, said opponents proved the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative "committed voter fraud in obtaining signatures in support of the petition." But they did not prove the MCRI violated the federal Voting Rights Act by depriving minorities of equal access to the political process, he said.

The MCRI seeks to ban race and gender preferences in government hiring and public-university admissions in Michigan. Lawyers representing the MCRI and state elections officials told Tarnow last month that Michigan residents would be harmed if they were not allowed to vote on the issue.

Opponents said the MCRI misrepresented the referendum's ultimate aims while petitioning to put the issue on the ballot. Witnesses told Tarnow they were tricked into signing or collecting signatures on petitions circulated by the MCRI.

Tarnow wrote that "voters who were induced by fraud into signing the petition still have an opportunity to participate in the political process by voting against the proposal in the general election."

I guess I can see where the judge is coming from on this specific law- but I think it proves that we need to tighten up the ballot proposal laws.

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Strategic Vision Poll: Granholm 48 - DeVos 43
Polls, polls, polls. Always more polls. Check the phrasing on the question, identifying the party affiliation. Wonder if that had any bearing on the outcome.

If the election for Governor were held today, whom would you vote for Jennifer Granholm, the Democrat or Dick DeVos, the Republican?

Jennifer Granholm 48%
Dick DeVos 43%
Undecided 9%

Bush didn't fare too well (not a surprise), but the question that struck me most was this one-

Do you approve or disapprove of President Bush's handling of the economy?

Approve 27%
Disapprove 60%
Undecided 13%

Bigger number than the disapproval on the war.

Scary numbers on the immigration issue-

Do you favor granting amnesty to illegal immigrants currently in the United States?

Yes 8%
No 81%
Undecided 11%

Do you favor building a wall along the southern border of the United States to prevent illegal immigration?

Yes 76%
No 12%
Undecided 12%

Rarely is the question asked: Are we safer?

Do you expect another terrorist attack within the United States in the next six months?

Yes 79%
No 5%
Undecided 16%

Well, then. Better go buy some duct tape.

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Venture Michigan Fund - State venture capital to be put to work
Lookee here, the foundation to create more jobs.

A new, state-backed fund designed as a catalyst to attract more venture capital for growing young technology companies in Michigan has raised $200 million and is ready to start investing, Gov. Jennifer Granholm is to announce today.

The Venture Michigan Fund I, to be managed by Credit Suisse's Customized Fund Investment Group, won't invest directly in companies. Rather, it will invest in other venture capital funds that have a presence in Michigan and that target investments in Michigan-based start-up companies engaged in research, technology, and new product development.

Michigan has been a backwater for venture capital investing compared to VC hotbeds such as California and Massachusetts. As a result, promising research that begins at Michigan universities or companies often ends up being commercialized by entrepreneurs and companies that leave the state to follow the money.

Venture capitalists often like to have their pet projects located nearby.

To keep more smart people and promising young companies in-state, the enabling legislation for the Venture Michigan Fund requires any other VC fund that wants to draw on the Venture Michigan Fund to invest a big chunk of money in Michigan companies.

Investments will benefit a variety of emerging technologies targeted by the 21st Century Jobs Fund, including advanced manufacturing, alternative energy, health care and the life sciences, homeland security and information technology.

And while Granholm was working at something that will bring more jobs, DeVos was out mouthing the usual platitudes. From Lansing-

DeVos said if he's elected governor, companies such as Franchino Mold and Engineering will fare better in tough national and international competition.

"This company will find a better environment," he said. "What we can do is create an atmosphere in which it can succeed."

Dick never says exactly how he is going to do that, unless creating "an atmosphere" means driving down wages for American workers.

The next part of the story is crucial and goes right to the problem, a problem that Dick gladly helped create.

Franchino Mold and Engineering Vice President Dave Churchill said the company has streamlined in recent years, reducing employment from 135 to 85. He said the company faces challenges with rising health care costs, a skilled labor shortage and tough competition with China.

"We're competing against people in China who are making $10 a week," he said.

Bingo.

Dick knows all about creating jobs in China. He even got a big tax break to do so.

Did he tell that to the workers he spoke with yesterday? My guess is no. He'll just surprise them later with the new "atmosphere" of low wages and no benefits. After all, they can always get another job, right?

In Battle Creek, Dick was dodging more questions. He sure has the "politician speak" down.

As part of his four-day tour through Michigan after Saturday's state party convention, the Republican was in Battle Creek touting his run for governor and skirting the occasional question.

During an informal discussion, nursing home administrator Donna Mahoney asked DeVos about state money for the facility. Specifically, she wanted to know if DeVos would maintain its current funding level.

While DeVos praised the facility and its programs, he came short of saying dollars were guaranteed.

"We can only do as much as this state's economic growth can allow ... ," he said. "The issue facing us is to be able to get our economy moving so we can invest in these kinds of programs going forward."

Mahoney was hoping for a more direct reply.

"I would have liked him to say he would continue to honor the commitment," she said, referencing state dollars. "I didn't get exactly the direct answer I wanted."

Don't hold your breath waiting for direct answers from Dick. They will not be forthcoming.

And neither will the money for your programs, either. Ask Dick how he will replace the $2 billion that was just cut, you will probably get the same answer- "tax breaks first, trickle down later".

You seniors will just have to wait.

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DeVos' Latest Ad Features Granholm Success Story
I should have known. Is there anything this man says that is actually true? Are we sure his name is really Dick? Someone might want to check on that...

LANSING -- Dick DeVos recently released the latest in his series of misleading television ads. The ad features Grand Rapids businessman Jim Zawacki, whose business is growing rapidly despite an uphill battle against the Bush Administration’s policies of unfair trade.

The DeVos ad script implies that Zawacki’s business is having trouble growing, but the truth is that Zawacki’s company has been expanding recently. On August 8, 2005, the Grand Rapids Business Journal reported that “Zawacki’s firm has grown by 100 people in the past year alone.”

The company’s future prospects are bright. On July 24, 2006, the Grand Rapids Business Journal reported that Zawacki’s Grand Rapids Spring and Stamping was granted a city industrial tax abatement worth an estimated $55,000 to invest $1.2 million in a new 1,000-ton Verson press. At the time, Zawacki said, “Our largest press used to be 600 tons, so this gives more tonnage and a bigger bed press so we can do bigger things.”

“I am surprised Jim Zawacki doesn’t want to do a television ad in support of Governor Granholm,” said Granholm Spokeperson Chris De Witt. “She is pleased that his business is expanding in Michigan, and she agrees with him that unfair trade is hurting our manufacturers’ competitiveness.”

The ad script blames the state bureaucracy and state tax system for Zawacki’s supposed inability to grow. Just a few months ago, however, Zawacki was singing a different tune. On April 18, 2006, he told National Public Radio’s All Things Considered that Chinese currency manipulation was preventing his company from growing past 400 employees. In that interview, Zawacki said, “I'm not smoking pot, nor have I ever, but the point is that we would easily be over 800 people.”

This wasn’t the first time Zawacki cited foreign trade as an impediment to the growth of his business. In May of 2005, Zawacki told the Grand Rapids Business Journal that his company was losing business to companies and China and Korea, saying “there are so many unfair things that are going on related to trade.”

This reminds me of a quote from a certain someone-

"Dishonesty can also be withholding information that is important to another, particularly if that information is required to make an informed decision. People who are not told the truth cannot make good decisions. In fact, they can be led to make incorrect conclusions."

-Dick DeVos, "Rediscovering American Values".

Apparently Dick was describing his future ad campaign and he didn't even know it. Or, maybe he did.

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Conservatives not happy with DeVos
See Dick Run. See Dick Run away from the conservatives.

The word "conservative" is now a bit of a misnomer. They are regressive.

Gary Glenn, president of the Midland-based American Family Association, doesn't believe DeVos has done enough to motivate social conservatives, a key GOP constituency. DeVos is pro-life and opposes gay marriage.

"I think Dick still has some work to do to excite social conservatives about his candidacy," he said. "I trust at some point between now and November he will talk about the foundational values -- marriage and the protection of life."

He said social conservatives were more focused on ousting Granholm.

"I think there is more energy about removing Granholm than enthusiasm for electing Mr. DeVos," Glenn said.

Dick is trying to keep his base "in the closet", so to speak.

Ward Connerly, backer of the Affirmative Action/MCRI ballot proposal, isn't feeling the love, either.

California businessman Ward Connerly said Friday that Republican gubernatorial candidate Dick DeVos' opposition to a ballot proposal to end race- and gender-based affirmative action for Michigan government and schools has dried up potential contributions.

Speaking at a taping of the public television program "Off the Record," Connerly said, "People don't want to get on the bad side of Dick DeVos."

Connerly said potential GOP contributors to MCRI fear being on the outs with a DeVos administration if he is elected.

He said after the taping that Michigan is known to have a vindictive political climate, that those in power "don't forget who their enemies are."

DeVos is opposing the ballot proposal for political gain, Connerly said, because he doesn't want to energize Granholm voters. But he suggested DeVos personally supports MCRI.

Truscott denies this, of course, but given Dick's avoidance on other "conservative" issues, you don't have to go out of your way to believe that Ward might be telling the truth here.

The DeVos family financial support for the Radical Right has been spelled out in detail.

The DeVoses have supported such right-wing advocates as the Family Research Council, Focus on the Family, Council for National Policy and the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty in Grand Rapids, the Mackinac Center for Public Policy and Michigan Right to Life.

The organizations promote conservative economic and social agendas: free trade and less government regulation, school choice including vouchers, the infusion of Christian beliefs into public life and opposition to abortion and gay marriage.

Now, why would Dick run away from all these people he so generously donated his money to in the past?

Dick is running away from his support of George Bush, too. Back in May, DeVos was asked if Bush would appear on his behalf- listen to the non-answer he gave.

But, last week on the DeVos bus tour, 24 Hour News 8 Political Reporter Rick Albin asked DeVos about perhaps the biggest name in the Republican arsenal.

"Do you think the President will come to the state on your behalf?" asked Albin.

"Any president, in my view, should always be welcomed in Michigan. That's not a political statement, that's just respect for the office," DeVos answered.

Not a ringing endorsement there, Dick, especially after you contributed over $600,000 to the man.

See Dick Run, indeed.

The MDP has a great video out called "See Dick Run" that sums up everything. Go watch. Makes me wonder why I bothered writing all this stuff down. ;-)

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Democrats wrap up party nominations at convention
And a good time was had by all...

It came down to a fight on the floor in the race for attorney general and secretary of state at the Democratic state convention Sunday, but the battle was tepid as Grosse Pointe attorney Amos Williams and Macomb County Clerk Carmella Sabaugh easily won the nominations.

Williams will face Republican Attorney General Mike Cox, and Sabaugh will run against Republican Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land.

Left in the dust after months of campaigning were Scott Bowen, a Grand Rapids attorney who has been running for the attorney general nomination for more than a year, and state Rep. Mary Waters of Detroit, who lost her bid for secretary of state, in part because of a very public spat with Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.

The Bowen supporters had a very visual presence Saturday, but it looks like labor got behind Williams at the end.

The influential Labor Caucus set the nominations in motion Saturday when it got behind Williams and Sabaugh.

Although party officials would have preferred a settled ticket before the convention started Saturday, the floor fight kept delegates in their seats until the end of the two-day convention.

And the contested races didn't expose signs of weakness or divisions in the party, said Williams, a former Detroit police officer.

"We're all Democrats. We don't all have to think alike or march alike," he said. "We get to debate and jostle with each other, but when we leave this hall, we're all Democrats with one objective: to win in November."

And Bowen, who conceded defeat when it became clear that he was far short of victory, said the Democrats would stand united behind the entire ticket.

"Whatever happens today, I'll stand with you because Cox has got to go," he said.

Does this make my "Goin' with Bowen" t-shirt a collector's item? (hey- they were free. How could I resist.)

All along the roadside (very close to the highway) coming in to Detroit there were "Cox: Attorney General" signs. Is that even legal? Isn't that state property?

Cox, we might be able to take out. Terri Lynn Land will be a tougher battle.

Sabaugh emerged as a consensus candidate for secretary of state in the last few weeks. As Macomb County clerk for 14 years and Warren city clerk for 11 years before that, she said she was the better-qualified candidate.

"I know how to run elections, fair and open," she said. "I have a record of actions, not words. I know Terri Land and I can beat her."

Matt at Michigan Liberal has a great write up on Sabaugh here. Pretty impressive, but can she get the name recognition out there?

And once again- this election turns personal for me. Imagine my surprise to find one of my good friends from elementary school nominated for the MI Supreme Court.

DETROIT (AP) -- Democrats on Sunday nominated Grand Rapids attorney Jane Beckering for the Michigan Supreme Court.

Beckering, 41, is a partner in the Grand Rapids law firm of Buchanan & Beckering PLC, where she handles medical negligence cases.

She said she was surprised to be tapped to run for the state's highest court but has grown increasingly frustrated with the court's direction since former GOP Gov. John Engler filled four of the court's seven seats through appointments before leaving office in 2002.

"Ever since that time ... I have watched an erosion of the rights of Michigan people," Beckering said, adding that the court now favors the interests of big business and big insurance companies over the rights of individual plaintiffs.

The Michigan Trial Lawyers Association treasurer said she agreed to run when Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm "called on me to get off the sidelines and do something about it."

The Governor made an excellent choice. Jane is one of the smartest people I have ever known. We used to run with the "egghead" crowd when we were young- two of them went on to split the Valedictorian award for the Forest Hills Central Class of '83- and we were pretty good friends up until high school. At that point I set all the dials for "self-destruct" and joined the booze and rock-n-roll crowd; Jane went on to be a successful upstanding citizen. I always knew she would- some are destined for great things in life. That was Jane.

Jane was different from the other rich little brats that populated Forest Hills. She always had a sense of compassion for everyone- a heart of gold. She didn't act like she was "above" other people like the rest were so fond of doing. And funny. God, was she funny. We used to laugh quite a bit; she could always crack me up.

She will make an excellent judge.

The scales of justice need to be recalibrated," she told the more than 2,000 Democratic activists attending Sunday's state convention at Cobo Center.

Beckering is married to federal prosecutor Ray Beckering, who prosecutes health care fraud in the western district of Michigan. The couple has two daughters and a son. A native of Grand Rapids, she earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan and her law degree from the University of Wisconsin in Madison.

Congratulations Jane!

We now have the one of the best of FHC running for a position (Jane), and one of the worst of FHC running for a position (Dick).

One bought it, one earned it.

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Zogby/WSJ August Poll numbers- Granholm up 50-43
Nobody likes Zogby, but what the heck- here it is.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm continues to lead Republican challenger Dick DeVos, the Amway heir (I love how they put that), by seven percentage points. Her standing has improved markedly since polls conducted in the spring.

Stabenow doesn't fare as well, 49-45. Stunning difference from the last EPIC poll.

Incumbent Democrat Debbie Stabenow's lead narrowed for a third consecutive Zogby poll. She is now four percentage points ahead of Michael Bouchard, sheriff of Oakland County, north of Detroit. As recently as March, she led by 14 points.

Gotta admit, they have a nice interactive map. Whether or not their numbers are any good is up to debate.

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Who Got The Gravy?: Bloggers and the MDP Convention, Day 1
Without a doubt the best write-up on the Blogger's Caucus and the happenings Saturday at the MDP convention. If you are interested in what all went down- here it is in detail.

Excellent job, Nirmal!

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Granholm, DeVos fire off accusations as race begins
What's the difference? One is telling the truth, the other is lying.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm took sharp verbal shots at Republican challenger Dick DeVos on Saturday, calling him "a CEO who cut jobs in Michigan to invest in Asia."

In speeches to the Michigan Democratic Party convention at Cobo Center in Detroit, Granholm and others displayed a campaign theme of class division, characterizing DeVos as a wealthy, archconservative ex-Amway executive and friend of President George W. Bush who has shipped jobs to China.

"I am fighting for the things that everyday people of Michigan want and need," Granholm said. "My opponent has spent his time and a considerable part of his fortune fighting for things that hurt our citizens."

"You may not have a lobbyist with a fancy suit. But you know what? You don't need one. You have me."- Granholm, quite possibly the best line of the day.

It's about time the Democrats started calling this what it is- a war on the middle class, a war on the poor. While the median CEO pay increased 25% in 2005 to $17.9 million, the average worker has not seen an increase in the past five years. Corporate profits are soaring, and nothing is "trickling down".

Class division? You bet it is.

Republicans act all offended if you use that term. Why? They are stealing you blind.

At about the same time at the state Republican convention in Novi, DeVos was criticizing Granholm, saying she has offered excuses instead of leadership as the Michigan economy has continued to falter. He said it's time to make fundamental changes to the way government does business.

"I like Gov. Granholm. She's a nice person and a gifted communicator," he said. "But you have to judge a governor not on what they say, but on ... what they get done."

Here is a big list of the things she has "got done" right here. And MEDC has a monster list of jobs created here.

Where is Dick's list? DeVos left Alticor/Amway in 2002. He had a lot of free time to "create jobs", didn't he? What did he "get done"?

*crickets chirping*

DeVos brought the audience to its feet Saturday with a call to fix low-performing public schools, saying Detroit's schools send "more kids to prison cells and welfare rolls than ... to college classes." He pledged to get more resources into classrooms.

Wonder how DeVos is going to get "more money into classrooms" when he just engineered a $2 billion cut to funding. And the quote about "welfare and prison"? More dog whistle words for the Right, and it's a stepping stone to his quest for vouchers.

Granholm's comments marked the first time she has publicly linked DeVos with Amway, the corporation for which he served as president in the 1990s when it laid off workers in Michigan and expanded its overseas business in China and Japan

Finally the Press casually admits that fact.

DeVos displayed his arrogance during his speech- "apparently making an assumption about the outcome of a race not yet decided", according to Rick Albin. If you are a Republican and Albin calls you out, you probably have stepped over the line.

(Channel 8 has the video clip at that link, if they move it try the video page.)

The press is starting to draw the distinction between these two, and that is exactly what we need to have happen.

(A different version of this is cross-posted at Daily Kos.)

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Welcome to the Machine: MDP Convention



Let's try some stream of consciousness writing here... I'm a bit tired and overwhelmed right now, so I'm just going to throw it all out there.

The Democrats. The Democrats want to give you lots and lots of paper. They have a flyer for everything, they also have programs and platforms and t-shirts and buttons and just all sorts of stuff. The cool thing was they give you a free MDP book bag to put it all in! Good thing, too, I could never carry all of that.

Got there early to help the Michigan Liberal team flyer the seats. Turns out I wasn't in the MDP database, (I thought I had joined at some point? oh well) so I had to register as a guest. No problem. Go right in.

Then came the sticker people. Everybody wanted to give you a sticker- the little 3" round ones that you can plaster all over your shirt, or something. I ended up plastering my free book bag. This encouraged the Stabenow people to put yet another sticker on me. Team Stabenow was everywhere. I think they all came in this trailer-



I guess when you are a Senator you get to drive the whole trailer right in the building, eh? Team Stabenow was definitely the most impressive presence in the place. Team Stabenow also wiped out all the sub shops within a half mile radius of Cobo Hall- both places we went to for lunch ran out of bread due to all the Team Stabenow people going out to lunch and beating us there. I went to complain to the Team Stabenow internet director when we came back, but she was out to lunch, too. ;-) Bloggers went hungry. Let's hope they don't take it out on Debbie.

Cobo. Never had been there before today. Without looking it up, I'm guessing 60's? With some renovations here and there? Whatever it is, the acoustics and lighting were terrible in the main hall- have pictures from the speeches of just about everyone, but they need some work with Photoshop.

Blogger caucus in the basement. That was cool. 1st ever, and I have a feeling it won't be the last, because it is our intention to destroy the mainstream media! (just kidding- good God don't take me so seriously. Who loves ya, Peter.)

We didn't get to talk much about blogging due to the cavalcade of politicians stopping by- first there was Senator Stabenow...



...and then Governor Granholm...



...Nancy Skinner and Jim Marcinkowski...



... and some others. Haven't had a chance to do their pictures yet. Don't worry David, I will get to you.

It was great to meet the bloggers- there are now faces on the names of all these people I have been reading for months. Very nice group of people. It's funny- because I have been babbling on to these folks since February, I didn't feel that usual shyness I get around new people.

Went upstairs for the main speeches- and they were excellent. Having a hard time remembering details right now - I'm going on hour 21 of being awake at this point.

All I know is-

Nobody, but nobody, beats this one.



Transcript and video here. (actually, the video isn't up as of this writing- but as soon as it is I am going to go watch it again.)

You must watch this; you will see why I carry on like I do. There will be no question in your mind who should be Governor of this state. (like there was in the first place?)

I'll link to some news stories tomorrow.

All in all, a very fun (and long) day.

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Governor Granholm's Traveling Salvation Show: 2006 Convention Webcast
Live on your computer- QuickTime required. Follow the link for directions.





Just watch it. She will blow you away.

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Charlevoix businessman calls on Republicans to back Granholm

Moderate backlash against the extremism in the Republican Party. It's about time.

LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm got a boost Thursday from a Charlevoix businessman who has started a group called Republicans for Granholm.

Gil Ziegler, 68, said he wants to see Republicans keep control of the state House and Senate and win other statewide offices. But when it comes to a choice between GOP gubernatorial candidate Dick DeVos and Granholm, he's voting Democratic.

"As an automotive supplier, no one needs to tell me that Michigan has taken some hard hits in its manufacturing economy," said Ziegler, who owns Alken-Ziegler, a privately held metal forming and machining company with offices in Kalkaska and Livonia, where Ziegler also has a home.

"Gov. Granholm has strategies in place to bring us through this difficult period, with a stronger and more diverse economy in the future," he added. Ziegler could list only a few adherents so far but thinks voter-rich Oakland County could be fertile territory for his group.

A businessman who "gets it".

On this next point, he might want to reconsider his support for our Republican led Michigan legislature.

Ziegler said he disagrees with Republicans in Washington and Lansing who oppose embryonic stem cell research and who have turned many social issues into political litmus tests.

"I'm going to disappoint some people in the Republican Party. But those are the extremists in our party who want to block stem cell research and who turned out of office a good man like U.S. Rep. Joe Schwarz," Ziegler said. He was referring to the 7th District incumbent who lost the GOP primary earlier this month to Tim Walberg, who said Schwarz was too liberal.

DeVos opposes embryonic stem cell research, although he supports research on adult stem cells. Granholm has asked citizens to voice their support for lifting a ban on embryonic stem cell research in Michigan by signing an online petition.

Ziegler said he donated money to DeVos when he ran for the State Board of Education in 1990, but won't do the same this time.

Federal records show Ziegler donated $5,000 earlier this year to Its My Party Too PAC, a national group that wants to "return the Republican Party to the sensible center." He also has given to the Michigan Republican Party and was appointed by former GOP Gov. John Engler in 1992 to the Northern Michigan University Board of Control.

Where has Christine Whitman been, anyway?

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DeVos admits he bought a defective product in George W. Bush, asks for money back

He actually used the campaign slogan "get it done" with the White House. Unbelievable.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Dick DeVos called on President George W. Bush on Wednesday to meet with U.S. auto industry leaders, saying the failure to set a date for the long-anticipated session is disrespectful and wrong.

DeVos, who has been a generous donor to Bush and the national GOP for years, said at a Lansing news conference it is "inexcusable" that the White House had not scheduled the meeting.

"Generous" is actually a bit of an understatement. Chris Christoff of the Free Press has a short breakdown here, and called the DeVos/Prince family donations "almost legendary".

And I would be derelict in my duties if I didn't pull out my all-time favorite Betsy DeVos quote at this point.

"I know a little something about soft money, as my family is the largest single contributor of soft money to the national Republican Party," Betsy DeVos wrote in an op-ed for the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call. "I have decided, however, to stop taking offense at the suggestion that we are buying influence. Now I simply concede the point. They are right. We do expect some things in return."

Back In June, Dick offered to "make a call" to his employees friends in the WH.

Michigan Republican gubernatorial candidate Dick DeVos "has talked to all the automakers and offered to make a call to get the meeting set up," said his spokesman John Truscott.

Leave a message, Dick, we'll get back to you.

White House spokesman Tony Snow said last week the proposed meeting between the president and the carmakers has been "swamped by events" on several occasions but will occur. No date is set, he said.

"This isn't about politics," DeVos said Wednesday. "It's about people's jobs. The White House needs to step up and make it happen."

The context of the announcement, however, was intensely political.

Criticism of Bush's economic policies, especially those related to Detroit-based automakers, has been a central theme of Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm's campaign. She accuses Republicans of neglecting the needs of domestic manufacturers and claims that DeVos would follow in lockstep with the president and national GOP leaders.

Wednesday's announcement was clearly an attempt by DeVos to create some daylight between himself and the president.

The DeVos family has purchased the Republican Party, damnit, and when they say "jump", the White House had better say "how high?" Dick proceeded to pitch a fit reminiscent of the petulant child that he is now trying to order around.

"When I am governor, things will be different," he said. "I won't ask for a meeting, I will tell them we are having a meeting. It is sad that our governor cannot make a meeting happen. This is just incompetence all around."

The wanna-be King is not pleased. The subjects have disappointed him.

"This has just been a continued refusal. I've heard the meeting's scheduled and it's not scheduled, it's on and it's off," he said. "Finally, I just said 'This has been enough. The White House needs to step up and get it done.'

Did you say that, Dick? And who are you, again, exactly? What position of power do you hold? Oh yeah, you gave them all that money.

Well, if this does happen now, it will just prove that you are REAL CLOSE to GEORGE W. BUSH. Congratulations. Sounds like a wise political move. Keep it up.

Team Granholm was ready once again with the rapid response. Go get 'em, Chris.

"DeVos caused this problem. Instead of following the Governor’s lead, he should be apologizing to laid-off Michigan workers for lobbying for the policies that hurt them and the auto companies in the first place, costing more than 200,000 citizens their jobs. Dick DeVos was the largest contributor to Bush-Cheney 2004, but in front of the cameras he’s happy to sing a different tune. This time he’s not lying about the Governor’s record, he’s lying about his own. Governor Granholm has fought for our workers, repeatedly called on President Bush to meet with U.S. automakers and to take action to halt unfair trade practices."

The "L" word. It goes hand-in-hand with the GOP nowadays, doesn't it?

They found a great article from '93.

The U.S. auto industry should "stop crabbing" about foreign competition and start doing practical things to market their cars abroad, the president of Amway Corp. said Wednesday.

The Asian market is not difficult to break into, said Dick DeVos, Amway president, in an appearance before a group of Forest Hills senior citizens. Audience members asked what advice he would offer to U.S. companies seeking to expand abroad.

DeVos said U.S. automakers "should stop crying and do something about (their lack of market share). I'm not very sympathetic with the auto industry because some of their problems are self-inflicted."

Well, Dick, it appears some of your problems are "self-inflicted", too. You should stop crying about it. I'm not very sympathetic to you, either. Matter of fact, I don't see how you can be trusted to make the right decisions- after all, you did buy George W. Bush.

EDIT: The Disembodied Head of Dick DeVos agrees. Do what the head sez!

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Granholm ahead by a touchdown, 49-42
See what happens when I try to avoid Rick Albin? I miss the exciting poll news!

Watch Rick chew nails here. It was quite a stretch for him to put a Republican spin on this, but he managed to do it.

GRAND RAPIDS -- A statewide poll conducted on Monday and Tuesday of 600 Michigan voters shows Governor Jennifer Granholm and Senator Debbie Stabenow opening larger leads over their Republican challengers.

The EPIC-MRA poll, conducted for 24 Hour News 8 and our media partners, revealed a seven-point lead for Granholm over her Republican challenger Dick Devos. Granholm is supported by 49%, DeVos 42% and Libertarian Greg Creswell 3%.

Stabenow is cruising.

Stabenow has a 13-point advantage, 51--38, over Mike Bouchard for the six-year Senate term. Libertarian Leonard Schwartz at 2%.

WOOD once again gives the whole demographic breakdown here. They seem about the same as last time; I'm beginning to believe that only people over 40 answer the phone.

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Breaking: Script for new DeVos attack ad found in Grand Rapids!

The MDP reports that Dick DeVos has dropped a cool million on the two new attacks ads that debuted last week. After complaints arose that the "man on the street" ad was not specific enough, a source inside the DeVos campaign leaked a rough draft of a new attack ad that goes into more detail. Although the actors have not been lined up yet, rumor has it that pre-production has begun on a sound stage at Alticor somewhere in the city of Grand Rapids.

Voice:

Woman: "When Jennifer Granholm took office, I thought she said she would buy us all a pony. Now, 3 ½ years later, still no pony. My child has to ride the dog around the yard".

Couple No. 1: "We were real disappointed that Jennifer Granholm didn't come over and repaint the house. What good is a public servant if they don't actually, you know, serve? And the weeds are getting kind of high, too."

Man No. 1: "I had to sell off my wife's speed boat just to pay off the mortgage on the lakefront cottage, and now I can't buy my second Ducati. Jennifer Granholm is obviously trying to put me out on the street."

Man no. 2: "I was told that Governor Granholm could sing and dance, and was going to write the great American novel. I still haven't seen a DVD and the bookstore doesn't have a release date. And what about that world hunger thing?"

Couple No. 2: "Weren't there supposed to be miracles? We were promised miracles. Jennifer Granholm can't even walk on water. What good is a Governor that can't walk on water? And Michigan still has too much snow."

Closing graphics:

Jennifer Granholm.

No ponies. Can't control the weather. And she won't paint your house, either.

Paid for by the Republicans with Unrealistic Expectations (RUE), Grand Rapids, MI. Copyright 2006.



This has been a test of the Emergency Snark Response System. Had this been an actual snark emergency, you would have been instructed to tune to your local TV station where you would see the actual "man on the street" commercial running every 15 minutes until you realize that this guy is jerking your emotions and you should start making fun of him like I do.

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Kilpatrick to host party faithful for Granholm rally
Will this put an end to the rumors? My guess is no. But one can hope.

A week after he was publicly accused of striking a secret deal to support the Republican Party in November's election, Detroit's Democratic Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick will host a phalanx of political, labor and church leaders for a rally Thursday to support Gov. Jennifer Granholm's re-election bid.

The rally, at 2 p.m. in Campus Martius, is a prelude to the party's convention set to begin Saturday in Detroit, when the state's Democratic leaders and delegates converge on Cobo Center to nominate the candidates for November's statewide races.

"The mayor is happy to host this joint endorsement of Governor Granholm's campaign and the Democratic ticket," said mayoral spokesman Matt Allen. "This is the start of the drive here in Detroit for Governor Granholm's re-election."

For Democrats, it's crucial that they show a united front going into this year's nomination convention.

"What we really want to do is highlight the governor and our U.S. senator, and we can't do that if you're writing about the other spats that are going on," said Lansing-based political consultant Ken Brock.

Rifts among party leaders in Detroit erupted last week when state Rep. Mary Waters, D-Detroit, accused Kilpatrick of sabotaging her efforts to become the Democratic nominee for secretary of state in an effort to strengthen the Republican Party's chances of winning in November. State party leaders rejected her accusations.

The feud between the mayor's supporters and opponents remains an open sore that could threaten efforts by Democrats to deliver a large voter turnout in Detroit, which the party needs to ensure victory in November.

I know nothing of Detroit politics- and I don't think I want to. All I know is they better realize which side of the bread is buttered here- and it ain't the Republican side. DeVos will be funneling all the bucks to his West Michigan buddies. I can almost guarantee it. West Michigan Republicans blame Detroit for all our problems, and they are going to expect a big payoff if Dick becomes King.

Wake up, Detroit.

The bigger fight comes in the form of the Attorney General nomination.

In a debate aired Tuesday on WCHB-AM (1200), the candidates -- attorneys Scott Bowen, a former district judge from Grand Rapids, and Amos Williams, a former Detroit police officer from Grosse Pointe -- said they were unwilling to withdraw their candidacy, even though party officials said they hope for a settled ticket before the state convention.

"A floor fight is a good thing. This Democratic Party needs a dose of adrenaline," said Bowen, who started making automated phone calls this week, seeking support from delegates.

Williams said he is making personal contacts with delegates, raising money "and getting ready for a war on the floor."

And the war might get nasty.

Although he didn't mention Kilpatrick by name during the debate, Bowen said no one should be off limits when it comes to investigations of public corruption.

"We need an attorney general who will investigate the hard cases, and I think you know what I'm talking about," Bowen told the audience of about 50 people at the International Center in Greektown.

I have no strong feelings either way on these two guys, so I am just going to sit back and watch them duke it out.

Looks like I snagged a car to go to this thing. I won't be "live blogging"- I don't have a laptop, and I'm not really sure of the value of live blogging anyway, especially on a Saturday when traffic on the 'net is quite low. Unless you are some kind of closed-captioning typist (and I'm not), it is impossible to keep up with the speeches. Streaming video is a much better way to go- not sure if anyone is going to try that.

Going to try to take some pics- but that really depends on the lighting. If it's a low lighting situation my camera won't be able to handle it. Don't want to be popping off the flash all the time.

Not being a party activist, I almost feel like an outsider here. That might make me a better observer though. With no basis of experience, I won't be clouded by expectations.

We will see.

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Upjohn study: SBT must be replaced

Peter Luke has a column out today that addresses the issue of the SBT and looks at the implications of not replacing the funding.

LANSING -- There's no free lunch when it comes to cutting business taxes in Michigan, and if the price tag requires slicing school and road funding, the state's economy would be worse off, according to a new analysis.

Timothy Bartik, senior economist for the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, said Monday that Michigan's economy is in a deep rut because of the Michigan-based domestic auto industry's declining market share -- not because business taxes are too high. The institute is a nonpartisan economic policy group based in Kalamazoo.

While Republicans have seized on this summer's December 2007 repeal of the Single Business Tax as a way to move the state in a different direction, any tax savings to business would do more harm than good if lost tax revenue isn't replaced, Bartik said.

Upjohn is a non-partisan, non-profit agency that conducts research "into the cause and effects of unemployment and measures for the alleviation of unemployment". According to Tom Walsh in the DFP- they insist on publishing the full study, not just what the client wants to hear.

Bartik said the institute is nonpartisan, does not do proprietary research for clients and insists on publishing the results of all its work, even if the group funding the study disagrees with the outcome.

The report was financed equally between MEDC and Upjohn.

Looking to the Republican response- they cite a report from Patrick Anderson of the Anderson Economic Group.

Another study by Lansing economist Patrick Anderson for House Republicans insists that Michigan has to lower its tax burden to be a Top 10-state economically. Anderson's study said achieving that ranking, putting Michigan in line with high-growth states like Virginia and North Carolina, would require $2 billion in state and local business tax cuts.

How very convenient that eliminating the SBT would equal $2 billion dollars!

Mr. Anderson can hardly be considered a "non-partisan source". He is cited whenever the Republicans need an "expert" to back their slash and burn policies. Here is his biography at the Mackinac Center, his web pagewhen ran for the UM Board of Regents (endorsed by Right to Life and the Citizens for Traditional Values), and it seems he is available as a paid expert for your litigation needs.

We have a study being cited by Republicans that says $2 billion must go, but on the other hand we have DeVos saying he would replace a "majority" of the SBT revenue.

Which is it? DeVos won't say. From June-

Q . When you talk about restoring a majority of the tax, what are you talking about? Seventy, 80 percent of the revenue?

A . I haven't quantified that. I'm not going to get pinned down on a number.

Of course not. He won't release a plan until after the election. Act in haste, repent in leisure- but I doubt Dick would ever repent.

He also misrepresents Granholm's work on the SBT.

Q . Help us here then. Write the headline for us on the heart of this plan.

A . Eliminate the Single Business Tax.

Q . And ?

A . We'll deal with that. Let's eliminate it first. The governor has been governor for three and a half years and has yet to put a plan on the table to do anything.

Wrong. Either Dick is lying or he wasn't paying attention. Granholm released the "most sweeping restructuring of the SBT since its inception 30 years ago" back in March of 2005. We all know what happened to that. It was rejected because someone needed a campaign issue.

So, at this point, the Republican non-plan for the SBT varies from "eliminate it all" to "replace the majority". Doesn't quite instill confidence in business that wants to locate or expand here, does it?

The study concludes that high taxes are not to blame for Michigan's sluggish growth- the two ton giant that is the auto industry and those who depend on it are.

Bartik said Michigan is competitive on taxes, but is suffering economically because of its reliance on an auto industry undergoing painful restructuring. In a normal economic cycle, Michigan's economy should be proceeding along the same national pace.

Each of the tens of thousands of auto jobs lost since 2000, he said, means the loss of four other jobs throughout the Michigan economy as the result of a "rippling" effect.

At this point, any gains that we make can be wiped out in a second by the auto manufacturers. All the more reason to diversify our economy so we aren't at the mercy of one industry.

Tom Walsh has a succinct summary of the Upjohn study.

In the short-term, ride out the restructuring period in the domestic auto industry.

In the medium run, some business tax reforms that lower the tax on new investment without cutting key public services could be helpful.

And in the long run, that study said, Michigan must increase the skills of its workforce. That means boosting education attainment and making the state a more attractive place for college graduates to work.

We have no choice but to ride out the auto industry. Hang on tight.

Business tax reforms were stalled so DeVos could have an issue, hurting new investment by lowering our credit rating and putting new development in limbo. If not for the Republicans, they would have been completed last November.

And as far as education, Granholm has made that a key plank in her policy- increasing money for schools in next year's budget, increasing money for the Merit Scholarship, raising graduation requirements, and setting a goal of increasing the number of college graduates in Michigan.

I think we have discovered who has the better plan for Michigan. Quality of life and responsible fiscal policy are the keys to our future success.

DeVos and the Republicans offer neither.

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Michigan Liberal :: Blogger Caucus at the MDP Convention
This is cool.

Are you going to the MDP convention in Detroit this weekend? It's free and open to all. Here's one more reason to go - you're invited to the first ever MI blogger's caucus! Meet fellow bloggers face-to-face, and discuss blogging, the 2006 elections, and how we can work together to grow the Michigan blogosphere.

Our caucus will take place on Saturday from 10am to noon, in room D01-A. It all came together too late for the printed agenda, but there will hopefully be signs at the convention.

Thanks to Matt, Jon Koller and LiberalLucy from Michlib, emptywheel from The Next Hurrah, Rayne from many blogs, and Clint from the Granholm campaign for helping to make this happen.

How you can help, is first to spread the word - email anybody you can think of who should know about it. Second, if you want to help with the planning please comment here or drop one of us an email. And third, be there on Saturday.

Also - there will be a "bloggers row" on the convention floor, so don't forget to bring your laptop for live-blogging at Cobo.

Wish I could be there- but to take pictures, not blog. Kind of tells you where my heart really is. Sitting here wondering about the lighting at Cobo, not the wireless connection... besides, I don't have a laptop anyway. And I can't get to Detroit.

Rumor has it that some candidates might stop by this little shindig- that would be a very good idea on their part. This is small media, but it is media. Nothing like a little free publicity from schmoozing with the bloggers.

And Laura- if you're reading this- you totally rock. The Democratic Party is blessed to have you.

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Michigan gas prices down 24 cents over last 2 weeks
Must be the Governor's commercial worked! ;-)

DETROIT (AP) — The average price of self-serve regular gasoline in the state is down 24 cents per gallon over the past two weeks, AAA Michigan said Monday.

The statewide average for regular unleaded is $2.88, which is 17.5 cents per gallon more than this time last year.

The Traverse City area has the most expensive gasoline of Michigan's metropolitan areas at $3 per gallon, the auto club said.

I just paid $2.86 mid-grade ($2.76 reg, and GR is usually one of the more expensive markets in the state). Like my Dad recently said, "Now all we have to do is shut down the other half of Prudhoe Bay and we will be down to $2."

What in the world is going on here?

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TOM WALSH: Eliminating Single Business Tax helps little, study says
Really? Someone get DeVos on the phone. He needs to hear this.

Michigan's recent economic funk is almost entirely a function of the poor health of General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and large automotive suppliers closely linked to them.

Michigan's key tax rates are slightly below the national average.

And while the state Legislature's recent abolition of the Single Business Tax could provide a small economic boost, it would be a very small one, closing only one-ninth of the employment growth gap between Michigan and the U.S. economy as a whole.

These are the key conclusions of a study being released today. It was conducted by the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research and funded by the Michigan Economic Development Corp., the state's agency for business attraction and retention.

James Epolito, president of the development corporation, said he wanted an unbiased study of how competitive Michigan is against other states and he considered the Upjohn Institute a "middle-of-the-road" research outfit without a right- or left-leaning ideology. Bartik said the institute is nonpartisan, does not do proprietary research for clients and insists on publishing the results of all its work, even if the group funding the study disagrees with the outcome.

In this case, Gov. Jennifer Granholm probably will take satisfaction from the Upjohn study's conclusion that the Legislature's move to kill the Single Business Tax at the end of 2007 -- with no replacement tax identified yet for $1.9-billion in annual lost revenue -- won't help Michigan's economy much. "Businesses like good roads and education too," Bartik said, so the appeal the tax cut will hold for businesses would diminish if important services are gutted.

-snip-

But from 2000-05, Michigan employment fell nearly 1.3% a year on average, while the United States as a whole was enjoying modest job growth of 0.35% annually. The emergence of that gap between the Michigan and national economies coincided with the declining market shares of GM and Ford in a fiercely competitive U.S. market in which Toyota, Honda and Nissan expanded their truck and SUV offerings and Korea's Hyundai emerged as a major player.

The Upjohn study concluded that it's "unlikely that Michigan's recent slow growth is primarily due to allegedly excessive business taxes or inadequate job skills. The slow growth of autos in Michigan is probably due to national and international trends, not to the state of Michigan's policy choices.

I doubt a little thing like facts will get in the way of Dick and the Destroyers. I'm sure they will dismiss this study outright and continue telling us that eliminating the SBT will solve everything- after all, being devoid of any real ideas or plans, they have nothing else to say.

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Whitecaps - Big innings lift Lansing


Sean Shoffit slides into third with a bases-clearing triple. Booooo....

COMSTOCK PARK – With a five-run fourth and a three runs in the seventh Lansing won its second game in a row, 9-3 over the Whitecaps. Matt O’Brien took the loss in his Whitecaps debut.

Sean Shoffit delivered five RBI for the Lugnuts and had a three run triple in the fourth.

After Lansing took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third, Cameron Maybin tied the game with an RBI single in the bottom of the inning.

The Lugnuts grabbed a 6-1 lead in the fourth, but Jeramy Laster hit a two-run homer following a two-out triple by Mike Hollimon in the sixth to pull the ‘Caps within three at 6-3.

But Lansing came back with a three-run rally in the top of the seventh that featured a two-run single by Shoffit.

Matt O’Brien gave up six runs (5 ER) on seven hits and three walks as the starting pitcher in his Whitecaps debut. Casey McKenzie pitched 5.2 innings for the Lugnuts and allowed all three Whitecaps runs but earned the victory.

'Caps sing the anthem. Things went downhill from there.


We believe that Corey was attempting a bunt (with two strikes even), but we're not really sure. Whatever it was, we hope he doesn't try it again.

Still, it was a great day to be at a game...

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Meta Kitten:



Indulge me for a second. I don't know what is going on here- but the hits on this site have really jumped (relatively speaking) in the past 10 days, and I can't quite figure out why. Must be the campaign season heating up and the fact that this has turned into a Michigancentric blog, as evidenced by the map above.

If this is happening here, I can't imagine what is happening at Michigan Liberal. If you want to join in the conversation, make sure you stop by over there- they cover more topics than I do and the system is set up for easy commenting. As you know, Blogger leaves a lot to be desired in that area- Scoop/SoapBlox systems are the way to go.

Whatever the reason for all the traffic- I just wanted to say "thanks" to all of you for stopping by, glad you're taking the time to read, and I hope that you take what you see here and spread the word to your family and friends. Or, start your own blog. Yeah, it's a bit narcissistic- but it's a great way to communicate. You, too, can have everyone in Lansing hanging on to your every utterance. ;-)

(Note to our esteemed legislature: I see you. Now get back to work.)

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Media takes note of DeVos mudslinging in Honda attack ad
Is this the awakening of that sleeping giant we call the fourth estate? Between Skubick's editorial yesterday and this piece from Kathy Barks Hoffman, there is a glimmer of hope that the press is waking up to the DeVos campaign's fabrications and obfuscations and isn't amused anymore.

Apparently this ad is causing quite a stir.

LANSING, Mich. (AP) - A new ad launched Friday by GOP gubernatorial candidate Dick DeVos criticizes Gov. Jennifer Granholm for "being left out of the game" when it came to pursuing a new Honda plant.

Honda Motor Co. announced in late June that it would be building its $550 million assembly plant in Greensburg, Ind. DeVos said then that Granholm should have visited Honda Motor Co. during her trade mission to Japan in May.

"I probably would have found time to visit Honda," he told a group of business leaders in Detroit.

"Probably"? Truth is, DeVos probably could not have met with them. According to the Granholm campaign quoting an AP article- the "company does not look favorably on meetings with Governors in the latter stages of their decision making process". DeVos didn't even know the protocol. Not a good sign.

The Granholm entourage did visit Honda in May.

Although Granholm didn't meet personally with Honda officials on that trade trip, she said she and her aides worked hard to land the Honda project.

"I met with them one year ago, and we also presented them a proposal - my team did - when they were in Japan" in May, she said earlier this summer. She added that 2005 and 2006 trips to Japan resulted in 22 companies promising to bring over 1,000 jobs and $240 million in investment to Michigan.

Hoffman points out that, once again, Dick is using images that are false, just as he did with the Grand Rapids ad (pictures from the 60's/70's) and his very first ad showing empty buildings that weren't really all that empty. Artistic license? Not when it is done repeatedly. At that point, it becomes part of the overall attempt at deception.

The DeVos ad shows footage of a backhoe surrounded by debris as a building is being torn down. But it doesn't disclose that the building is a GM assembly plant in Lansing that included parts more than 100 years old.

GM replaced that plant with a state-of-the-art assembly plant in nearby Delta Township. The plant will make the Saturn Outlook, GMC Acadia and Buick Enclave crossover vehicles starting later this year.

The article goes on to say that the claims stated in the ad about the Honda deal are not true.

In the DeVos ad, an announcer says, "The press reports Indiana's governor pursued Honda for a year, while Gov. Granholm was blindsided - only got interested 'at the 11th hour.'"

But Michigan was among five states - Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois - that vied for the plant and its 2,000 jobs after Honda announced in May it would build a plant in the Midwest.

Auto analyst David Cole said only Indiana and Ohio were seriously in contention for the Honda project, which the company said it wanted to put in the upper Midwest. Honda has assembly plants in Marysville and East Liberty, Ohio, and many nearby suppliers.

"I don't think Michigan was ever in the running," said Cole, director of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor.

And once again, DeVos distorts what the press has said- just as he did with his first attack ad on Granholm that both the Detroit Free Press and Lansing State Journal immediately objected to.

The New York Times article the ad cites said that the governor "was criticized last month when Michigan did not actively compete for a Honda plant that will be built in Indiana," but the article did not level that criticism itself.

No, that criticism came from DeVos and other Republicans, and what he essentially did was put those words into the mouth of the New York Times.

Maybe we will see an editorial from the Times next.

This new ad has given John Truscott a chance to spew some of the standard talking points and toss out a few more misdirections. Can this guy ever answer a straight question?

"Time and time again, there is evidence that we have missed opportunities and our families have had to pay the price," he said in a statement. "Michigan's unemployment rate is at 7 percent. ... Michigan is second in the nation for out-of-state moves. The list goes on and on. Something must change."

"Time and time again"? Does Truscott have proof of that? And, even if he can "name names"- since DeVos is obviously lying about Honda, will he then lie about any of the so-called other "missed opportunities"? As far as the 7 percent rate- that was due to standard auto plant shutdowns that happen every July.

John dodges the obvious question- why is DeVos slinging mud when he just ran two ads saying that he would stay out of the mud? Doesn't that make Dick... oh, what's the word... a hypocrite?

Asked why DeVos decided to go negative after saying in a recent ad that slinging mud doesn't help bring jobs to the state, Truscott said: "The mood of the public is negative. The Michigan economy is negative. A lot of bad stuff is going on out there, and this governor doesn't recognize it."

Maybe John can't hear very well. That wasn't the question, and that certainly wasn't an answer to the question, but it gives them a chance to advance their completely negative view of our state. It's no wonder no one wants to come here with ads like this running all the time. Why does Dick DeVos hate Michigan?

John also fails to mention the mood of the whole country is negative, but again this was only a deflection and an attempt to bounce it all back on Granholm. The fact is that the DeVos campaign is the one being negative, and has been negative about our state from the beginning.

Brewer comes right out and says this ad is a lie.

"DeVos already had the record for the most money spent on a Michigan gubernatorial campaign, but now it looks like he will have the record for the most negative attack ads," said Michigan Democratic Party Chairman Mark Brewer. "The DeVos ad about Honda is an outright lie."

And the Granholm team was ready- and has an amazing page knocking down every point in the ad.

The ad is a lie. Governor Granholm met with Honda and made an effort to get them to come to Michigan. The DeVos campaign has gone negative and is fabricating a story for this attack.

The media is finally noticing the inconsistencies in Dick's rhetoric and advertising. That is crucial- campaigns will say what they say- but when the press calls it out, people will take note.

The question is: How can anyone trust DeVos after all of this?

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Tim Skubick: Enough excuses from DeVos
How many times has DeVos used the excuse, "we don't have the information", or, "we need to look at other states" as a dodge for not revealing his plans?

Skubick calls him out on the SBT, but he has used this slippery denial on more than just this one issue. Anytime Dick doesn't want to answer a question, you get some variation of the same 'ol song and dance.

With money to spare you would think somebody in the DeVos camp could scrap together 50 cents to call the state treasurer.

Treasurer Bob Klein is standing by to take that call.

But the DeVos folks apparently don't want to talk with Klein because it may serve their own political agenda to keep him on hold until after the election.

So what's going on?

When the DeVos team issued its Turnaround Plan, reporters wanted to know how they would pay for the elimination of the Single Business Tax.

The essence of the response was, Golly gee whiz, we can't respond because the Granholm administration won't give us the tax revenue data we need to draft one.

At the time it seemed like a plausible excuse.

No, it didn't. This has been talked about for well over two years now, you can't tell me that the information isn't out there.

DeVos aides even salted that notion by reporting that the GOP House Speaker couldn't get his mud hooks on the data either despite his warm and fuzzy working relationship with the governor. Right.

DeVos media mouthpiece John Truscott hammered home the point again after the GOP legislature wiped out the unpopular SBT on August 8th. He told an unsuspecting Detroit newspaper that the DeVos folks couldn't play the SBT replacement game because they didn't have the details from the state.

Once again, DeVos isn't telling the truth. Anyone surprised?

"I have not been sitting on it. They never asked," explains Mr. Klein for the first time.

Would you give it to them, if they did ask?

"I would," he matter-of-factly asserts.

In fact, Klein fired off a 55-page memo to the aforementioned Speaker Craig DeRoche with all the tax data one would ever need to draft a replacement for the SBT. And on top of that, while DeVos and company were crying crocodile tears over their inability to figure out their tax policies, yet another GOP source had the numbers since last June!

And the ultimate truth-

From this corner it looks like they are not excited about doing that. If they got the data, there would be no more excuse for not drafting an SBT replacement program. Such a plan might result in somebody paying more taxes and those folks could turnaround and vote against DeVos for doing that.

And another ultimate truth- someone is going to end up paying more. If the Republicans have their way, it will be you.

But before the Granholm gang reaches for some quotes from this column to attack their opponent, they, too, should look in the mirror.

They've had the tax data from the get-go. They used it a year ago to draft their first plan to overhaul the state's business tax. And even though the GOP legislature rejected it, the governor continues to boast that she has a plan and she's sticking with it because she doesn't want to hack anyone off either.

She did hack someone off, that being DeRoche and his buddies in Big Insurance, and probably a few others, too, but I didn't see any compromise plan put forth from the Republicans. This probably could have been settled with a little give and take, but remember- someone needed the campaign issue.

And now look at all the time we have wasted, and all the time DeVos continues to waste with his stall tactics. Gee, for someone who runs around saying, "Git it done", he is not in any hurry to actually get anything done.

Not that he will tell you about anyway. That will come after. When it's too late to change your mind.

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Lansing State Journal: Progress: Addition of new jobs signals area's economic base rebuilding
The LSJ has a nice editorial pointing out the not-so-obvious- manufacturing jobs are returning.

There is encouraging news for the area's economy if you know where to look.

Manufacturing jobs are returning, not in big waves, but in smaller, sustainable increments - singles and doubles rather than home runs.

The announcement this week by Gestamp US HardTech Inc. that it will add 150 jobs and double the size of its Mason metal stamping operation to about 450,000 square feet is the sort of news that suggests we are rebuilding the economic base. This is a $74 million investment from a company that could have sited its plant in any number of states or countries. Gestamp, headquartered in Madrid, Spain, says pay will average about $564 a week, and certainly it could have found locations with cheaper labor. But quality counts, and the skilled labor pool available to companies in mid-Michigan is superb.

Other manufactures agree. Bridgewater Interiors will have 650 workers at a Lansing plant manufacturing seats and overhead systems for GM's Delta plant. Spartan Motors in Charlotte has begun a $14.5 million expansion, partly for firetruck chassis and cab operations. Demmer Corp. is building a new Lansing plant that will create 380 jobs for defense-related work.

And Martinrea in Manchester, adding another 200 jobs.

I see stories like this all the time- they tend to fly under the radar.

MEDC has a page with all the major announcements of this year- and looking at it makes me glad I didn't try to go back through the archives and count all these numbers up. It would have taken hours.

The truth is out there, you just have to open your eyes.

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Attack ad No. 2 from DeVos- coming soon to a TV near you

Wow- From the guy who doesn't want to get "muddy", here is attack ad number two. Rick Albin ran one of his famous a "claim checks" tonight and has a few clips from Dick's new ad; something tells me it hits tomorrow. It's one of the "man on the street" opinion ads telling us how all these well-fed, middle class white people are disappointed in the Governor. Apparently she didn't get them that tax break for the cottage out at the beach, or something.

Who is being a demagogue here?

Seems Dick's ads are full of whiny, emotionally manipulative people, the kind of people you just don't want to be around because they never have enough of whatever it is they are complaining about today. They are being deprived of their God-given American right to have it all, to have it now, and to have it at a low cost.

You know, Republicans. ;-)

EDIT: 7:15am 8/18- I see Dick is back on the 'net too- I think he bought all the Detroit News advertising space. Interestingly enough (or not), he trots out the Big Lies once again-

"Grand Rapids was a mess" (no, it wasn't)
"Losing a job every ten minutes" (no, we aren't)
"Dick DeVos is a jobs maker" (no, he isn't)

The graphics are sloppy, too. Forgive me if I link to stories that slap you in the face with the Dick- I'm going to try to avoid it but I don't see how I can if I'm feeding off the Detroit or mlive papers.

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Judge Anna Diggs Taylor nixes warrantless surveillance
YES!

DETROIT - A federal judge ruled Thursday that the government's warrantless wiretapping program is unconstitutional and ordered an immediate halt to it.

U.S. District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor in Detroit became the first judge to strike down the National Security Agency's program, which she says violates the rights to free speech and privacy as well as the separation of powers enshrined in the Constitution.

"Plaintiffs have prevailed, and the public interest is clear, in this matter. It is the upholding of our Constitution," Taylor wrote in her 43-page opinion.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuit on behalf of journalists, scholars and lawyers who say the program has made it difficult for them to do their jobs. They believe many of their overseas contacts are likely targets of the program, which involves secretly listening to conversations between people in the U.S. and people in other countries.

The government argued that the program is well within the president's authority, but said proving that would require revealing state secrets.

I don't have a lot of time for this today (hate it when life gets in the way of blogging, don't you?)- but the Kos kids have a great diary with a link to the .pdf of the ruling. Check it out.

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Stabenow joins the TV commercial party
It's not often that I actually hear Stabenow speak, so it's nice to hear her voice. Good commercial- standard footage of Michigan workers working and a pretty outdoor shot at the end.

Watch it here. Or just wait for it to show up on TV.

Beats Bouchard's "Daddy Knows Best" commercial, that's for sure. That thing just gives me the creeps.

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DeVos crashes Coast Guard Festival
A diary at Michigan Liberal alerted me to this story last night.

DeVos displayed a stunning lack of respect for the Coast Guard Festival and the people of Grand Haven, and in this action showed what kind of leader he would be- one that would go against the people's wishes and do whatever he wants.

Festival officials are particularly proud of the memorial service honoring the men and women of the Coast Guard who sacrificed their lives for their country. A highlight of the service is a tribute to the crew members who died when the Coast Guard Cutter Escanaba sank during World War II.

Saturday's events, of course, are less somber, as the Grand Parade and fireworks highlight a day loaded with activities.

But it's still the Coast Guard Festival and we shouldn't forget about the intent of the celebration.

That's why we find it upsetting that some candidates for political offices felt the need to campaign in Grand Haven during the festival.

Gubernatorial candidate Dick DeVos and U.S. Senate candidate Mike Bouchard, both Republicans, were two candidates who were in town during the festival stumping for votes.

DeVos representatives, in fact, had asked if they could participate in the Grand Parade.

Festival Director Michael Smith denied them permission. The festival's policy is that any candidate seeking office can't be part of the parade. Incumbents are allowed to participate in the parade.

DeVos' people found a way to circumvent the rule by walking the parade route prior to the parade. DeVos worked the crowd like any good politician would.

We believe that DeVos' appearance at the parade was inappropriate. He should have found another time to visit our city.

The festival should be void of politics. We're honoring the men and women of the Coast Guard - not people seeking political office.

The modern day Republican arrogance for all to see. They were told "no"; they did it anyway. Does that behavior sound familiar?

No class. No class whatsoever.

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Election officials weigh wording for November ballot proposals
I thought there was going to be a problem here...

LANSING, Mich. -- Two measures likely to appear before voters on the November ballot may be headed for a collision.

One restricts state spending. The other requires more state money for schools.

The conflict became more apparent Wednesday when the state elections board listened to a debate over the proposed wording for the ballot issues _ and their potential costs.

One proposal would automatically give school districts, universities and community colleges enough money each year to at least cover inflation. Another would limit overall state spending to a combination of inflation plus population growth.

The two are in "direct conflict" with each other, said Rich Studley of the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, which opposes both measures. He noted the spending limitation measure could give money back to taxpayers at the same time more dollars would be required for schools.

The backers of both proposals don't want the costs revealed. Wonder why that is.

Opponents of the education proposal told the Board of State Canvassers that the ballot language should tell voters that an extra $700 million in state dollars would be needed in the first year to fund the measure, including $380 million if employee retirement costs for local schools are shifted to the state.

But backers urged election officials to draft wording that doesn't include estimates of the fiscal impact, whose accuracy they questioned. The nonpartisan House and Senate fiscal agencies have given different estimates of how much the education proposal would cost.

And for the SOS...

Those who oppose a proposal that would limit the growth of state spending also stressed its potential price tag, and the impact it could have on local governments by requiring voters to approve more aspects of local budgets.

A Senate Fiscal Agency analysis of the Stop Overspending proposal says its effect on future state budgets is unknown.

If it is "unknown", then wouldn't it fall under the category of "perhaps this is a Really Bad Idea"?

Here's a question- SOS passes. The SBT is eliminated. Would any replacement revenue fall under the SOS provisions? Or doesn't that count as "growth"?

See, this is why I take pictures of frogs and stuff...





Thinking about all this shit just hurts my head. I sure hope this doesn't pass- seems this is the first year in awhile that we didn't have some big throw-down over the budget. I can't imagine the mess that this would create.

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Census: Michiganders hate to leave
Here's an interesting twist on the "everyone is leaving" talking point that is bandied about so often.

GRAND RAPIDS -- Tucked away in the details of the latest census bureau report is a statistic that might surprise most people. Michigan natives hate to leave home.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey, out of 9.86 million people who live in Michigan, 7.45 million were born in the state. That puts Michigan third in native retention behind New York and Louisiana. Two to three years ago, Michigan was ranked fourth.

The Census Bureau began publishing the American Community surveys a few years ago to provide glimpses of communities before the big census count every ten years. The reports are based on public records rather than door to door questionnaires.

Ten years ago, it would be no surprise if Michigan ranked high in retaining its native born residents. High paying manufacturing jobs were a big incentive, especially in the auto industry.

Today, there appears to be another force, because the state has seen little job growth.

The city of East Grand Rapids may provide a clue. It has one of the highest percentages of high school students who go onto college, perhaps one of the highest percentages of students who go to study out of state. Yet, a number of those people come home.

There is another side of having a high retention rate. Michigan may be doing a poor job attracted residents from other states. That could explain why so many people are born in Michigan, says Michigan State Demographer Ken Darga.

In any case, it refutes what has been a recently held belief, that Michigan is experiencing an exodus of people.

And this from Darga, in another story-

Ken Darga, Michigan's state demographer, said that contrary to popular belief, the young, college-education population isn't leaving the state in larger numbers than other states. Michigan has the lowest out-migration of any state for those 25-34, he said.

And people born here tend to stay. Only Texas has a higher percentage of people born in the state who stay in the state, Darga said.

Here's a link to the latest stats. Tear it up.

Could all of this mean that Dick isn't telling us the whole truth?

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New EPIC/MRA Poll- Granholm 50 DeVos 47
More polls numbers. Yeah, they don't mean anything right now.

But we all pay attention to them, don't we? Let's not kid ourselves here.

GRAND RAPIDS - The first poll since last week's primary election shows the race for governor is still very tight, but the senate race is not.

In a poll taken by EPIC-MRA exclusively for 24 Hour News 8 and our media partners, Governor Jennifer Granholm leads her Republican challenger Dick DeVos 50-47, with a 4% margin of error. The race remains a statistical tie.

The poll, taken August 9-15, also found US Senator Debbie Stabenow with a solid 12-point lead over Republican nominee Mike Bouchard, 54-42.

WOOD has a breakdown on all the questions, including ballot proposals, and demographics here.

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More Pictures from the Pure Michigan Tour:





Kind of a boring picture, but it took on a neat 3D look when I played with the levels...



Enchanted forest. No unicorns though!

These pictures came from the Rosy Mounds trails in Ottawa County. Don't let all the Bouchard signs out there scare you... it's a very nice place to visit.

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Daily Kos: MI-Gov: Granholm Up in New Rasmussen Poll
Polls, polls, polls are all over the place. Rasmussen leans Republican (Bush at 42%, as opposed to 30's elsewhere), so a Granholm lead or tie is interesting.

Granholm (D): 47
Devos (R): 46

Stabenow (D): 49
Bouchard (R): 44

I don't have access to the "premium service" so I can't see any analysis. Glad the Kos kids posted this- and I'm starting to feel guilty about not taking my stuff over there.

*sigh*

I don't want to wail on people. I can be such a bitch sometimes, and that's just not good for the "cause". Never learned how to debate... it's because I don't have any siblings. So, this is all my parents fault. (Hi Dad!)

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Granholm pushes Merit Award plan
It's sad that she has to leverage Republican ineptitude to get more money for college kids- but, hey, whatever works.

LANSING -- Michigan students would have collected $47 million to $71 million more last year in college scholarship money under a proposal pushed by Gov. Jennifer Granholm, according to an analysis by her office.

Granholm wants to increase the $3,000 Merit Award to $4,000, rename it the New Merit Scholarship and allow more students to qualify by awarding it to students completing two years of college or training after high school. Currently only high school grads scoring well on standardized tests receive the money.

In an effort to generate more support for her proposal, Granholm Monday sent district-by-district estimates to school superintendents showing the impact on their students if the scholarship is expanded. Granholm, who is running for re-election, is expected to tout her education achievements in the campaign.

If only 10 percent of the kids who don't now earn the scholarship go on to finish two years of post-secondary education, they would collect $46 million a year in additional scholarship money, the analysis found.

The New Merit Scholarship was first proposed by the governor in January 2005. It stalled in the Legislature but was revived last week after Senate Majority Leader Ken Sikkema, R-Grandville, said he would be willing to consider a compromise if the governor approved changes to the state's new minimum wage law. Lawmakers could take up the issue Aug. 30.

Follow this link to see how this came to be- I'm rather enjoying watching these guys squirm under the weight of their own stupidity. I think she is going to win this one.

One problem remains- why does Craig DeRoche hate college students?

House Speaker Craig DeRoche, R-Novi, isn't going along with the proposed compromise. DeRoche believes the current Merit Award program isn't broken, said his spokesman Matt Resch.

Resch said the compromise plan will cost more, and it's unclear where that funding will come from.

Um.... no. Either Craig is lying just to be an obstinate little prick, or he hasn't been keeping up on the current financial analysis.

According to a Senate Fiscal Agency analysis, the new plan would cost the same as the old one for two years, drop for two years, then increase by about $65 million a year more than the current program. The scholarship is funded from settlement money from a national tobacco lawsuit.

But an analysis by the state Treasury Department shows the tobacco settlement money will have enough through 2017 and beyond to cover that program and the 21st Century Jobs Fund, aimed a producing new businesses in Michigan.

I tend to trust the Treasury Dept. in these matters.

Hope this works- with college costs skyrocketing, these kids need the money.

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Terror charges tied to phones are crumbling
Tourists.

After two days of screaming headlines reading "Terror!" in the GR Press and all over the TV, one story comes to mind-

"The boy cried out "Wolf, Wolf," still louder than before. But this time the villagers, who had been fooled twice before, thought the boy was again lying, and nobody came to his aid."

When the real thing happens, no one will be paying attention.

Terror charges against two groups of Arab Americans arrested with hundreds of prepaid cell phones teetered in Michigan and collapsed in Ohio on Monday as authorities said they lacked evidence that the men intended to use the phones for evil.

Ohio authorities dropped charges against two Dearborn men arrested last week with hundreds of the disposable phones.

Meanwhile, officials in Tuscola County, in Michigan's Thumb, kept three Texans locked up Monday evening even after Michigan State Police and FBI officials said they were apparently wide-eyed tourists rather than would-be terrorists when they photographed the Mackinac Bridge.

The FBI -- which questioned the Texans, who are of Palestinian heritage, for several hours over the weekend after their arrest -- said Monday that "there is no imminent threat" to the iconic bridge linking Michigan's Upper and Lower peninsulas.

And the pictures?

"They were in Wisconsin and they drove to the U.P. and then down here," Ayad said. "The Mackinac Bridge was an amusement to them. On the camera there's 50 pictures, 20 of the bridge. The rest are a deer, ducks, flowers and trees."

The division in this country grows deeper. This can't be good for tourism, either. Seems some apologies are in order here.

"It was a knee-jerk reaction that these young men could be terrorists simply because of their religion and ethnicity," said Dawud Walid, head of the Michigan branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. "But the damage has been done," to these men's reputations, he added.

"I would hope a small amount of effort be shown by government officials as well as the media to stress that these men are innocent."

The Republican reaction? More obtrusive legislation, or course!

State Rep. Kevin Green today introduced legislation requiring customers to provide identification before purchasing any pre-paid cell phone in the state of Michigan.

Rep. Green said that prepaid cell phone purchases do not require a contract, credit check or any personal information, which can lead to misuse of the phones for other purposes. The bill will require vendors to record the name, address and driver's license numbers of customers.

That will make retailers and consumers happy. Since liquid can be made into bombs, maybe we should get names and addresses on everyone who buys shampoo, also.

If they "hate us for our freedoms", well, we won't have to worry about that much longer, will we.

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Former President Clinton to attend rally in Taylor
Why is it I always hear the 5th Dimension when I think of Bill Clinton?

"I was on your side Bill when you were loosin'
I never scheme or lie Bill, there's been no foolin'
But kisses and love won't carry me till you marry me Bill
I love you so, I always will..."

Yeah, I'm kinda weird. You really should have figured that out by now.

TAYLOR, Mich. (AP) — Former President Bill Clinton is expected to attend a rally with fellow Democrats on Tuesday.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm, U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow and U.S. Rep. John Dingell also are scheduled to attend the 4 p.m. rally at Taylor City Hall Plaza, the Michigan Democratic Party said.

The rally is to "Put Michigan Jobs and Our People First," the party said.

Good grief. We have GOT to work on our slogans.

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DeVos chooses Ruth Johnson as running mate
Looks like everyone, including me, was wrong about Butler. That's what I get for listening to rumors.

LANSING -- Republican candidate for governor Dick DeVos has chosen Ruth Johnson, Oakland County Clerk, as his running mate. 24 Hour News 8 Political Reporter Rick Albin was at this morning's press conference in Lansing as DeVos named Johnson as his lieutenant governor.

According to the Oakland County government web site Johnson currently serves as Oakland County Clerk and Register of Deeds.

The 51-year-old Johnson, who lives in Holly, served as a state lawmaker from 1999 through 2004. She was also an Oakland County Commissioner.

Johnson will travel to West Michigan for a second press conference, 1:30 PM, at Forest Hills Central High School.

Dick lives less than a mile from FHC, right on the same street. Must be he is going to invite her over and "baptize" her in the underground swmming pool. Heh.

I know nothing of this woman- I'm sure more details will come out from her time in the legislature.

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Repealed business tax could be factor in Michigan election
Wow, ya think ?!? Gee, it's almost like someone planned it that way!

I could show you that Granholm called for a rewrite of the SBT (let's not get into semantics of repeal vs. rewrite) during her campaign in 2002. I could also show you she started this ball in motion at the end of 2003- and by May of 2004 people were coming up with proposals and ideas. I could show you that Republicans were "studying" the issue at that time also. I could show you that she released her plan in the beginning of 2005- and the Republicans have been dragging their feet ever since.

I did show you that an agreement was reached last year to lower the SBT and was scuttled by the DeVos family, and how Republicans were supposed to work on the issue this year- and put it off yet again.

I could do all of that- and maybe I just did- but I feel like I'm screaming into the void on this. I don't have a lot of patience for "stupid", and I'm seeing a whole lotta "stupid" lately, along with the usual Rovian diversions coming from the Republican "leadership".

Point is, we had a plan, we had an agreement, Dick nixed it, and now we have to listen to this for the next few months while our credit rating tanks and businesses and investors are left up in the air, hurting job creation.

All so someone could have a campaign issue that he doesn't have to propose solutions for until after more "studies" are done, timed to be released after the election. How convenient.

LANSING, Mich. - Politicians are hoping voters' worries about their jobs and the economy will make the fight over business taxes a big winner for them in November.

After the GOP-led Legislature last week sped up the repeal of the Single Business Tax by two years - from late 2009 to late 2007 - Democrats unveiled a TV ad portraying Gov. Jennifer Granholm as a fiscal hawk.

Michigan Democratic Party Chairman Mark Brewer says the ad contrasts Granholm's commitment to cutting costs in a way that doesn't hurt health care, education and the needy with Republicans' decision to eliminate the tax without identifying how to replace the lost revenue.

"They did the easy thing in an election year," Brewer says of GOP lawmakers. "The problem all along has been an obstructionist Legislature. When you are in charge you have to make tough choices, and she has made tough choices."

But Granholm's opponent, Republican Dick DeVos, welcomes the earlier repeal and says real talks about business taxes now can begin.

"Real talks" have been going on for quite some time, as I have shown. Apparently they weren't "real" to Dick because he didn't have his say- after all, he stands to benefit a great deal from a SBT elimination.

Democrats say their opponents are fiscally irresponsible, cowardly Republicans who took the easy way out. They warn GOP candidates could force drastic cuts in government services or swap business taxes for higher taxes on individuals after the election, when it's too late for voters to hold them accountable.

Republicans say Democrats aren't doing enough to help Michigan climb out of its "single-state recession" and are resorting to scare tactics rather than acknowledging that much of the revenue probably will be replaced with a new business tax.

Scare tactics? It's not just a tactic, it is scary. "Probably be replaced" doesn't quite emote an air of confidence. Nice try at deflection though.

This is a state that has had $4 billion in cuts and adjustments already. It's down to the bone now. What else do you want to cut?

The Granholm folks have a handy chart on what the SBT covers.

Just how irresponsible is it to for the Republicans to end the $1.9 billion Single Business Tax without first figuring out how to replace it? Well, check this out. The Republicans will either have to raise taxes on working families to pay for it, or they will have to make massive cuts in health care, education and public safety. Specifically, they can:

Increase taxes $800 per year for a family of four.

OR eliminate all funding for state colleges and universities (Higher Education budget = $1.8 billion.)

OR combine a series of cuts, including eliminating local police and fire services:

Eliminate funding to prisons: $1,100,000,000

Eliminate local funding for services like police & fire: $422,000,000

Eliminate funding to community colleges: $275,000,000

Eliminate funding for State Police troopers: $120,000,000

Eliminate funding for veterans programs: $38,000,000

Eliminate funding for Office of Services to the Aging: $34,000,000

TOTAL: $ 1,989,000,000

Dick DeVos has refused to identify how he will cover the budget gap until AFTER the election. Since Governor Granholm proposed a firm SBT overhaul plan with a replacement business tax over a year ago, the Republican Legislature has steadfastly insisted on irresponsibly cutting the tax without agreeing to a replacement. As the Lansing State Journal noted earlier this year, DeVos and the Republicans wonÂ’t agree to a new, fairer tax on businesses, and they refuse to discuss what sort of cuts or other taxes they might impose.

And here comes the Rovian "projection" portion of our program- accuse your opponent of doing exactly what you yourself are guilty of.

GOP State Party Chairman Saul Anuzis and Republican lawmakers scheduled news conferences Monday to criticize the governor's business policies. House Speaker Craig DeRoche, R-Novi, characterizes Granholm's stance on the tax as being "for something and against it at the same time. That is shrinking from your responsibility."

I think that Craig meant "shirking", but that could be a press error. I also think we have identified exactly who is "shrinking" from responsibility here-

Hint: It's not Jennifer Granholm.

I feel like I have hit the wall on this issue. I was hoping Peter Luke or somebody, anybody, would call these guys out on this, and so far they have not.

The "gates" that need "crashing" around here are those of the media. The more I look at state politics, the more obvious it becomes.

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Bridge photos led cops to think of bomb
Tourists or terrorists? I honestly don't know what to think about this. On the surface, these guys seems like just a bunch of young kids looking to make a buck on reselling these phones.

If the hundreds of prepaid cellular telephones found in the minivan seemed odd, the pictures of the Mackinac Bridge were downright troubling to Tuscola County law enforcement officials who have charged three Texas men with terrorism-related crimes.

The phones plus photographs and videos of the 5-mile-long bridge led authorities to believe that the men -- two brothers and a cousin, all of Middle Eastern heritage -- were targeting the iconic structure linking the Upper and Lower peninsulas, according to a law enforcement official familiar with details of the case.

While the bridge pictures might have been vacation images taken by any tourists, they took on potentially sinister significance because of the men's bulk purchase at a Caro Wal-Mart of 80 talk-and-toss cell phones that have been used by terrorists to detonate bombs, the official said Sunday, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation.

But relatives of the Texas men said they're innocent entrepreneurs buying phones cheaply at discount stores, then selling them at a profit.

They have been honest about this plan on reselling phones- apparently this is popular in the Dallas area and phone are in short supply down there, hence the road trip.

If they were terrorists, would they be so open about their plans and their families? From the GR Press-

"All we did is buy the phones to sell and make money," Louai Abdelhamied Othman told Tuscola District Court Magistrate Joseph Van Auken. The men said they intended to buy the phones in Michigan for $20 and resell them for $38 in Texas. They said their resale business spanned several states.

"We've been stopped in North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin," Louai Abdelhamied Othman said. "We've been stopped in every state we've been through."

Reene said he hasn't confirmed those reports in the two days since their arrests.

"We've been checked by the FBI before," Othman said.

"We've been totally cooperative," Louai Abdelhamied Othman said.

If they were terrorists, would they be calling Dad to get them a lawyer?

The three say their cell phone resale business began three months ago.

"(These charges) are not that serious," Muhareb told Van Auken. "This is a misunderstanding. I'm (reselling cell phones) to send money to my mother for my brother to go to college in Jerusalem."

Tuscola County Sheriff Department deputies escorted the three men into the hearing room through an underground tunnel connecting the county jail and the courthouse.

After Van Auken read them their charges and said they carry 20-year prison terms, they appeared confused.

"We're going to get these 20 years?" Muhareb asked him.

"I couldn't begin to tell you," the judge responded.

The Othman brothers said they wanted to wait until their father arrived from Texas before getting an attorney to represent them.

But there might be more to it- and it doesn't have anything to do with the Mackinac Bridge.

Police also noted that the men had thrown away many of the phone chargers, indicating that they may have intended to send the phones out of the country because different outlets are used overseas. There were about 120 phones packed per box in their van, police said.

The three told police they were buying the phones to sell them to another man, who might send them to foreign countries.

This indicates that the hype about the bridge is just that- hype- and the trail leads back to Texas and whoever they planned on selling these phones to.

The media is making this nebulous connection to the bridge without much proof. Makes for a juicy story. But, if their intentions were just on the bridge, why did they need 1000 phones?

Sorry, but the color code on my cynicism level is now at "red". Yes, there are people looking to do us harm, more than ever before thanks to George Bush, but I'll be damned if I'm going to jump at every little incident that happens.

More will be revealed, and maybe I'll eat my words. We will see.

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When the Going Gets Tough:

... the tough go to the beach.


Very calm out there today. This is Lake Michigan, for those of you visiting from other states...









Sometimes a sign just hits you...

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MDP TV AD "Fiscal Hawk"
Me like. I haven't seen it on TV yet- since they went to terror, terror, terror all the time, time, time- I have tuned out the news. To put it bluntly, "terrorism", to me, is only so much Republican propaganda at this point. Follow this link to find out why. Here's a little taste-

"In the middle of a war on terror, we need to remain focused on furthering Republican ideas more than ever before."

See?

I've had enough. Go read the whole thing if you wish, but you probably can guess what it's all about.

Anyway, back to the new ad. YouTube is slowing this blog way down, so you will have to click the link to see it.

From the MDP-

LANSING- Today the Michigan Democratic Party unveiled its fifth statewide television ad titled "Fiscal Hawk". The ad, which begins airing today, displays how Governor Jennifer M. Granholm has protected Michigan taxpayers' interests by eliminating $4 billion dollars in structural budget deficits left by the Engler Administration and abolishing 71 Boards, Commissions, and Task Forces. She is also selling unnecessary state airplanes and cars.

The ad's unveiling comes a day after the Legislative Republicans' fiscally irresponsible decision to side with GOP gubernatorial candidate Dick DeVos and eliminate the Single Business Tax and its nearly $2 billion in revenue without a plan to replace it.

"As Republicans in Washington create $300 billion deficits, Governor Granholm has been a fiscal hawk leading Michigan out of a budgetary crisis. Without Governor Granholm, Michigan would still have $4 billion dollars in red ink frightening away investors," said Michigan Democratic Party Chair Mark Brewer. "Now Dick DeVos and Michigan Republicans want to once again follow President Bush's lead and send Michigan into a two billion dollar deficit by eliminating the SBT without a replacement. Not only are Republicans in this state acting fiscally irresponsible and threatening essential services, they are threatening the state's bond rating that Governor Granholm has worked so hard to protect. Republicans seemed determined to send us on the path to financial ruin."

Very nice.

On the subject of ads- Tim Skubick decided to weigh in on Granholm's first ad. He seemed to be a bit snotty about it, too. Maybe the rumors of him being a Republican shill are true.

Whaddaya know. The governor can talk.

The long-awaited premiere of Gov. Jennifer Granholm's first TV commercial grabbed the attention of this town, as she actually spoke to the electorate for the first time this campaign.

Really, Tim? I see her out every day all over the damn state, so much so that I'm exhausted just watching it from the computer. Didn't you want to mention all the road time she puts in? No?

Tim goes on to babble about the ad and what he feels is its "glaring omission", and he talks about DeVos' ads and how commercials are affecting the race. While all of that may be true- campaigns seem to be about TV commercials nowadays, and isn't that a shame- there is a quote I would like to bring up from 2003 that really fits the moment here.

"People are godawful lazy about learning about candidates," he says. "I tell people, 'If you make a decision about who to vote for based on what you see in TV commercials, do the democracy a favor and stay home on Election Day.'"

Who said that?

Tim Skubick. He didn't say it this time around. Wonder why.

The MDP ads are good- excellent pictures- but quite frankly nothing beats the "Pure Michigan" ads.

Those. are. awesome. I actually stop and watch those whenever they are on.

Yeah, I know they are not campaign ads- but still. Phenomenal photography. Check 'em out.

We will see plenty of campaign commercials between now and November, stop for a minute and remember what is at stake here- our beautiful state. Let's keep Michigan "pure"- and that means keeping greedy Republicans from destroying our environment and economy.

Matter of fact, I'm going to go enjoy some "Pure Michigan" right now. Time to get away from this computer, get outside and appreciate this beautiful summer day.

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GOP leader floats increasing Merit Award to fix minimum wage flaw
Sometimes GOP incompetence helps people.

First, some back-story to set the stage. April 13th, when the flaw in the minimum wage bill was "discovered"-

Ari Adler, spokesman for Senate Republicans, said it's not certain that the new minimum wage law will require overtime pay for now-exempt workers. But he added, "If it's interpreted differently and it becomes an issue, then we'll look at addressing it."

House Republicans were aware of the bill's impact on overtime -- business groups quietly cautioned them -- but they decided to pass it quickly and deal later with fallout, said GOP spokesman Matt Resch.

Republicans knew the flaw was there, and ignored it in their haste to eliminate an issue that would drive people to the polls for a ballot proposal.

Granholm has been calling for a raise on the Merit Award Scholarship for quite some time. When it came up in June, Republicans had this to say-

"The governor's proposal is not acceptable and needs more discussion," Sikkema, R-Wyoming, said in a statement. "I'm willing to work with her on this, but we haven't made any progress because she has yet to find a way to pay for it or address the other problems."

Matt Resch, spokesman for Republican House Speaker Craig DeRoche of Novi, called the Granholm plan "irresponsible" because it is too expensive.

Giving kids more money for school? Irresponsible. But cutting $2 billion out of the budget without a way to "pay for it"? Not a problem.

Chew on that for a second.

A week later, Sikkema offered up the scholarship raise as a trade for cutting off the poor and an adjustment to teacher's health benefits.

Republican Senate Majority Leader Ken Sikkema said Wednesday he would consider approving Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm's plan to give college students $4,000 scholarships if she would agree to a limit on welfare benefits and a change in health care plans for teachers.

No dice, obviously, and an insane proposition in the first place. Ken knew this wouldn't fly; why did he even bother?

And that brings us to today.

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The leader of the state Senate on Wednesday suggested he could support raising the Merit Award scholarship to $4,000 and giving a tax credit to low-income workers if Democrats help fix a flaw in a new minimum wage increase.

Senate Majority Leader Ken Sikkema, R-Wyoming, said he would hold a vote Aug. 30 on a measure aimed at keeping some salespeople and others ineligible for overtime pay when Michigan's minimum wage rises in October.

"Time is of the essence," he said.

The minimum wage increase that kicks in Oct. 1 changes who is eligible for mandatory overtime because the state's minimum wage will be higher than the federal rate. That's drawing backlash from auto dealerships, trucking companies and other businesses that say they might have to lay off workers or cut back their hours.

Bumping up college scholarships and offering an earned-income tax credit would hit the state budget, Sikkema said. But he added in a statement: "I am willing to put them forward because both have enormous potential. Let's be bold and move our state forward."

NOW Ken wants to "be bold" and move the state forward- when he has to cover for his party's original neglect.

What was that about laws and sausage?

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MI GOP: "Honey, I blew up our credit rating!"

Cross posted at Michigan Liberal

From Standard & Poor's- (reg. required)

NEW YORK (Standard & Poor's) Aug. 9, 2006--Standard & Poor's Ratings Services revised the outlook to negative and affirmed its 'AA' rating on Michigan's GO bonds. The revised outlook reflects the Legislature's recent repeal of the state's single business tax, effective Jan. 1, 2008. The repeal of the $1.9 billion tax creates a structural imbalance for fiscal 2008 that exceeds any one-year imbalance that the state faced during the prior recession.

Oops. That can't be good.

Here's a little more from the release-

Beyond 2007, the state is facing some tough choices. Significant increases in economic growth stemming from the elimination of the single business tax are far from certain given the structure of the state's economy.

Republicans scarin' away the business again. What will we do with such irresponsible children...

I'll let the economists decipher this. I'm just the comic relief. ;-)

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Headlines I'd Like to See:

Governor calls for mandatory drug testing of Michigan Legislature


(AP) LANSING - Governor Jennifer Granholm today called for mandatory drug testing of elected lawmakers after the Michigan House and Senate voted to eliminate one quarter of the state's general fund without a replacement plan.

"You would have to be completely out of your mind to engage in such reckless behavior. Are these guys high or something?" the Governor said after being informed of the legislature's actions.

Besides the inexplicable gutting of the state budget, suspicions were raised when it was discovered that all the potato chips were taken from the Capitol building vending machines, and the music of Pink Floyd could be heard coming from Sen. Majority leader Ken Sikkema's office. Mr. Sikkema would not allow reporters into the smoke-filled room, instead meeting them out in the hall after quickly shutting the door behind him. Smoking is not allowed in inside the Capitol building.

When asked why the legislature decided to take this action on the SBT, Sikkema giggled and said if lawmakers wait to repeal the tax until crafting a replacement "It'll never happen. It's too hard, silly." Further questions to Sikkema went unanswered as he was distracted by the gilded molding on the walls and couldn't concentrate on what was being said.

Sen. Alan Cropsey, R-DeWitt, was found sitting in the corner working on the knots he had tied in his shoelaces. He noted the SBT already was scheduled to end in 2009, and when lawmakers voted to repeal it four years ago, they did not specify replacement revenue.

"They didn't do anything about it, why should we? Why do we have to do it? They didn't," he said. "The vast majority of legislators here voted for that. Did you have a replacement in place for it? No. ... The SBT has got to go. We keeping losing businesses' jobs because the problem is that taxes are too high."

When informed that Michigan's business tax burden isn't especially heavy compared to other states, ranked 26th nationally in state business tax competitiveness, Cropsey became quite defensive.

"Why are you looking at me? Stop looking at me like that!" Cropsey cried as he hid his face behind his hands.

Rep. Jerry Kooiman was found sleeping on his desk surrounded by empty potato chip bags. When he finally woke up after repeated attempts, he blurted out at reporters, "What? Did she call me a coward again? She's the coward! I'm not a coward! I'm leaving office anyway, can't touch me, ha ha, suckers!" He then rolled over and went back to sleep. Constituents said they didn't notice much difference.

The Governor called for a check of the building's water to make sure the problem did not lie in the Lansing city water supply. After it was found to be normal, attention was turned to the legislators themselves.

Testing will begin next Monday.

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State makes deal to keep Ford jobs
I feel better about putting that Ford ad on my blog now.

TRAVERSE CITY -- Gov. Jennifer Granholm and Ford Motor Co. executive Mark Fields are expected to announce a long-term deal today in which Ford pledges to create or retain of jobs in Michigan.

In return, the state would promise tax breaks to Ford in proportion to the automaker's investments and job creation over the next 20 years.

A special meeting of the Michigan Economic Growth Authority board is set for 8:30 a.m. to approve the deal. Also this morning, Granholm and Fields are scheduled to speak at the Management Briefing Seminars in Traverse City, sponsored by the Center for Automotive Research.

I would love to see them announce that they are building a plant here, but that doesn't look likely.

Given this environment, Ford will be cutting many more jobs than it's creating in the near future. So Michigan's primary hope for good news is that Ford's in-state facilities are spared as cutbacks occur disproportionately in other locations. The company has said it plans to build a low-cost plant somewhere in North America, but Michigan is regarded as a long shot to land that.

In the tax-incentive deal, Ford is expected to name a number of Michigan production facilities where new investments might be made, but Fields is not expected to spell out detailed plans today.

My first car was a Ford Pinto, so they will always have a place in my heart. Don't laugh, it was a pretty good car. It didn't explode or anything.

And Ford did the right thing and shot down the AFA; I give them big credit for that.

There is no other way to read this than that Ford did the right thing. Whether or not an agreement was reached with the American Family Association - and the AFA has a record of crowing about such "victories" when no such victory occurred (sounds a lot like our president) - Ford has rectified the real or perceived problem, and the AFA has been shown to have no clothes (other than a very rusty chastity belt).

Now, about that plant...

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Lieberman loses, vows independent run
Joe is on the Today Show as I type. He says he is going forward, no matter what the Party leadership says...

Voters in Connecticut turned him down, rejecting three-term Sen. Joe Lieberman for a political newcomer in the nation's first major test of the depth of anger over the Iraq war.

But Lieberman, undaunted, vowed to run as an independent against fellow Democrat Ned Lamont. "For the sake of our state, our country and my party, I cannot and will not let that result stand," he said of Tuesday's Democratic primary results.

Joe, your party made the choice. Time to listen to what they said and show some dignity. The fact that you won't let this result "stand" shows that you are all about ego.

Maybe the Democratic leadership can get through to him.

On Wednesday, leaders of the Democratic Party aim to make him change his mind - before Lieberman's camp files a petition to run as an independent, due by the afternoon.

Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid, New York Sen. Hillary Clinton and other officials are expected to endorse Lamont. New Jersey Sen. Frank Lautenberg last week suggested that his colleague drop plans to run as an independent if he loses by a wide margin.

"I think he really has to take a look at what reality is," Lautenberg said.

State leaders - including fellow Democratic Sen. Chris Dodds and a long list of top officials who only days before were campaigning for Lieberman - planned to rally for Lamont on Wednesday morning.

Sean Smith, Lieberman's campaign manager, said Lieberman was prepared to go forward with an independent run no matter what the primary outcome.

"This is bigger than the party now," Smith said.

No, it's not- and an independent run will rip apart the party- potentially hurting us all over the country. Instead of going after the Republicans, we will fight amongst ourselves. The media will focus on "Democrats in disarray", and the Pubs will skate on their crimes.

That would be incredibly stupid at this point in time. Don't do it, Joe.

"Tonight we voted for big change," a jubilant Lamont told supporters. The millionaire owner of a cable television company and former Greenwich selectman will face Republican Alan Schlesinger, a former state lawmaker, in the general election.

Did we? I see yet another rich guy who could afford to run for a seat. For all the talk of "people power", I see "green power". The people at Kos have this guy tagged as the second coming- what happens when he makes a vote they disapprove of, as all Senators eventually do?

I have drifted away from Kos lately. The tone over there has been so shrill, and there seems to be this purge mentality going on- "who should we Lamont next?"- that disturbs me greatly, and, I'll be honest here, I'm disturbed for basically one reason only- I'm afraid it will spill over onto Granholm. I don't know how deep she is in with the DLC, but she has been painted as DLC, and that's all that matters to these people. If I go after them, I become part of the circular firing squad I loathe. I feel trapped.

The hard part is- I agree with the Kossacks- I am, personally, in no way, shape or form a moderate- I just don't agree with their strategy of tarring everyone with the DLC brush. Tearing apart the Democratic Party at this point is suicide. That goes for you, too, Joe. The Pubs are practically handing us victories with their ineptitude; when we get a margin we can talk about removing the "imperfect" Dems- and I have a feeling a lot of these imperfect Dems would come back to our side if we had even a slight majority.

I know one thing- fighting amongst ourselves opens the door wider for the Radical Right in Michigan. The defeat of that "liberal" Joe Schwarz shows just how much the wingnuts are motivated. Interesting thing about that race is the endorsements he received- from Bush to McCain to Engler to DeVos- and yet he still lost.

Matt put it best-

If there's one lesson to be learned from Schwarz's defeat, it's that moderate Republicans no longer have a future in the Michigan Republican Party. To be sure, de-throning an incumbent member of Congress in a primary is a bold and unmistakable action, usually done when the incumbent has disgraced him or herself or because they have strayed too far afield politically (paging Joe Lieberman). Not the case with Joe. Joe was just Joe. He pretended to be a wingnut, but no one believed it. No, Joe got thrown out for being what he's always been at heart - a moderate. His political demise is an unmistakable sign for any other remaining moderates and "Milliken Republicans" in Michigan's Republican Party. That sign reads clearly in bold, 10-feet tall red letters: "GET OUT!"

Walberg is as nutty as they come.

Are moderates done in Michigan? On both sides? Or is this just a reflection of the primary process, when only 20% or so even bothers to vote?

The wingnut theory didn't hold true for Keith Butler, who lost to Bouchard. Rumor has it that DeVos is going to tag him for Lt. Gov.- and I have reason to believe that is true. We shall see.

Some good things- Voorhees lost. Yea. Can't stand that woman. I know nothing about the guy who won though- if I know Wyoming, he might be crazier than she is.

The senior millage passed. Good deal.

Rinck beat Hickey in a close race- he wins the right to be Vern's sacrificial lamb in November. I don't see Vern losing his seat- people generally like him, even though he has a little problem with the credit cards. Free-spending Republicans don't seem to bother the "conservatives", though. Go figure.

Fasten your seatbelts, kids, here we go...

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Granholm attacks single business tax repeal
My sincere hope is that these clowns are handing her a real big stick to BEAT them with- figuratively, of course.

Or, if she wants to use a real one, that's cool too. Whatever works.

LANSING - The battle over whether the state's main business tax should be repealed ratcheted up another notch Tuesday as Gov. Jennifer Granholm blasted Republican lawmakers' decision to repeal the tax "an act of extreme cowardice."

"I think the citizens deserve to know" how the $1.9 billion collected each year through the Single Business Tax will be replaced, or what services will be cut to make up the difference, Granholm said in a conference call.

She supports simplifying and restructuring the tax but says losing any of the revenue will mean additional cuts in education, health care and public safety.
She added that GOP legislative leaders should "either put it on the ballot, or put their cards on the table."

Is there a way to force them to put the cards on the table? Call "all in"? Anyone? Nobody seems to be able to answer that question for me. Ah, well...

The media is reacting. The LSJ called them out...

But Republican leaders say they plan to act; say they plan to enact SBT repeal.

What they apparently won't do in the next 40 days is publicize and enact an SBT replacement plan. Apparently, Republicans are waiting on a committee report - one conveniently scheduled to arrive after the November general elections.

Republicans will claim they have to wait for this "report". Watch and see. That will be the excuse.

Thing is, we find this bit of information from an article on replacing the SBT published two years ago.

State Treasurer Jay Rising has convened a task force that is expected to make recommendations later this year. The influential Regional Detroit Chamber of Commerce also is studying an SBT replacement tax. Republican lawmakers are examining the state's entire tax structure, including the SBT. - GR Press, May 2004.

Got right on that, didn't they? They have been "studying" this one for a long time now.

My guess is they are waiting for orders from someone. That someone can't give the orders at this point.

The Kalamazoo Gazette has some concerns-

David Littman, an economist at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, which favors scrapping the SBT, estimates it could take five years for the economy to grow enough to replace the lost SBT revenue.

That's five more years of state budget cuts -- at the hands of lawmakers who can't seem to get out of their own way. Somehow, we doubt they would cut their own generous pay rates. So what would end up on their chopping block? State police? Higher education, ensuring double-digit tuition increases? State parks? Environmental protection? Road maintenance and improvements?

Medical care for the poor? Which will drive up your insurance rates when they show up at the emergency rooms? And, since we have already cut taxes, why is it that we are not swimming in jobs and revenue right now? Can the Mackinac Center answer that one?

The Holland Sentinel chimes in-

What we oppose is premature repeal of the single business tax, and our opposition is rooted in prudence. The state Legislature seems bent on passing this tax cut without adequately considering or preparing for its impact on the people of the state of Michigan. The single business tax generates $1.9 billion per year to the state's coffers, roughly 20 percent of the state's annual income. Ask yourself: How would your family absorb a 20 percent reduction in income?

The GR Press has been strangely silent on this, but here is an interesting editorial from Oct. 2004 criticizing Granholm for trying tax reform in a lame duck session.

A lame duck session this year, in fact, shouldn't occur at all. These post-election corners in the Legislature's calendar are known far more for mischief and mistakes than for thoughtful, constructive lawmaking. Anyone witnessing such a session knows that reality. With the election over and the voters safely tucked away for another two years, lawmakers suddenly find the courage to vote through proposals that they hadn't found time to deal with in the 10 preceding months of the year. Usually, the voting on bills follows the formula for pushing pigs through a packing plant: rapidly, at high volume and without a lot of attention to their ultimate fate.

The Press had a pretty strong opinion back then. What will they say this time? They might surprise me; sometimes they do.

The Free Press today-

With the SBT eliminated, the Republicans think they will have the leverage they need to raise taxes on everyday citizens. Or they'll make us pay by cutting the things we value most: education, health care and public safety. More than likely, they'll do a combination of the two.

When you add it all up, ordinary taxpayers will end up paying more, and business will pay less. Not all businesses actually. The almost 140,000 Michigan small businesses that don't pay the SBT at all today are likely to start paying once the GOP has its way. Is it any wonder the Republicans won't reveal their secret plan until after the election?

I think we all know what the Republicans will do- the trick is to point it out to the public.

I envision this ad... a bunch of guys in orange suits running out of the gates at Jackson...

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Greetings from the Fightin' 75th- Go Vote:

Looks like I will have to vote Pub to help out the 'ol home team. We wouldn't want Germaine's seat going to someone who is worse than him not worthy, would we?

No. Of course not.

So, for the first time in my life, I will have to go pull the lever fill in the circles for the R's. After that, I am going to come home and chew on some aluminium foil. Just for comparison. Something tells me the feeling is about the same.

If you're in the GR area and are a little confused about who you should vote for, just grab Sunday's Press and vote the opposite of who they recommend. You really can't go wrong.

Please do vote for the Senior Millage, though. It never ceases to amaze me when the Press endorses all the slash-and-burn Republicans it can find, and then also encourages you to vote for proposals that everyone on their slate would gladly cut if given half the chance. They're crazy funny like that. It's no wonder I'm perpetually confused.

Go vote. You'll be glad you did. Or, it might make you feel a little ill. But what else were you going to do today, anyway?

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Ethanol plant coming to tiny town of McBain
Yeah, Iowa, we're coming after you...

MCBAIN -- Plans for a $100 million Ethanol plant were to be announced today in this Missaukee County town of about 580 residents east of Cadillac.

The plant will employ about 50 people on 25 acres near McBain's industrial park, said Bob Jones, the town's economic development director.

The facility is to be built by NextGen Energy LLC, whose partners include former state House Speaker Rick Johnson. Construction is to begin this fall and take about 15 months.

Usually made from corn, ethanol is seen as a potential means of weaning the country off foreign oil since it can be mixed with gasoline to power some automobiles and trucks.

Saturday marked the opening of a plant in Albion, and three others are under construction. We still have a long way to go to catch Iowa, but ya gotta start somewhere.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm said Saturday's grand opening of an ethanol plant here was a big step forward in Michigan's effort to lead the nation in alternative fuel development and production.

"This is our future as a state," she said. We should be the state that breaks the U.S.'s dependence on foreign oil. This is our niche. We put the world on wheels. We have a phenomenal agricultural sector. We have the Great Lakes.

"This is our moral and economic obligation. And you're starting it right here in Albion."

Granholm spoke as more than 600 people gathered at The Andersons Albion Ethanol Plant on B Drive North in Sheridan Township, just west of the city.

The plant will convert 20 million bushels of corn into 55 million gallons of ethanol per year after it goes online today. And it will add 85 jobs to the Albion economy.

"Moral obligation" seems to be the phrase of the day.

Wish we had started long ago. I just paid $3.28 mid-grade, and rumor has it that it is jumping up again tomorrow.

That corn juice is gonna look mighty good. Wonder if I can convert my car...

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Granholm touts plan for uninsured
The political turns personal. This is one of the biggest reasons I support Granholm, and it's a selfish one.

She might just save my life. No, I'm not being melodramatic.

I am one of the 1.1 million Michigan uninsured, and have been ever since my premiums went through the roof in 2000 after I had surgery. Even though the problem was corrected and will not re-occur, it put me into a "high risk" category for three years. Insurance was out of reach. By the time the three years were up, the basic premium price had caught up to the "high risk" price. It is almost as much as my mortgage.

I don't want to lay out my total medical history here, but I will say that I do have a dangerous and sometimes deadly condition that as of now is going untreated. I can manage it- it is more annoying than it is threatening at this point- but that could change. When you couple that with the fact that I sometimes go without necessary screenings that a woman my age should have- I am a potential walking time bomb.

I whistle past the graveyard everyday, and I'm grateful that I am as healthy as I am. I'm lucky.

Granholm was out talking about her healthcare plan last week, but the press seemed indifferent. One story made it through-

Corine Mitchner works in health care but has no health insurance.

She's one of the 1.1 million uninsured state residents whom Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm wants to receive coverage under her proposed MI First Health Care Plan.

The $1 billion initiative could start in April, Granholm said Wednesday in Saginaw.

Mitchner attended a health care roundtable with Granholm that attracted two dozen medical executives and business, labor and community leaders to Covenant Medical Center, 700 Cooper, to explore ways to make health care more accessible and affordable.

"We know it's not working right now, so the question is what can we do to make it work," said the Democratic governor, who faces re-election.

"I don't want to be a nation where we beg for quarters in glass jars next to cash registers at Dunkin' Donuts."

It isn't just a case of business competitiveness in a global marketplace or a matter of consumer affordability. It's a moral question for the richest nation in the world, she said.

Granholm said she would use $400 million in state funds earmarked for health care, tied to a hoped-for $600 million federal grant, to cover the cost of MI First.

The moral issue should go without saying, but, since people are all about the jobs and the money nowadays, let's take a look at that instead.

High health care costs have hurt the bottom line of Michigan auto manufacturers, the governor said. An example is Ontario surpassing the Great Lakes State for the first time in auto manufacturing.

Automobile makers "are going there for one reason and one reason alone, and that is health care," she said.

Canada has a government-sponsored universal health care program for its 30 million residents.

Covenant HealthCare estimates that 6 percent of 750,000 annual patient visits to its 26 locations in mid-Michigan are from the uninsured, said Spencer Maidlow, the medical group's chief executive officer.

Covenant passes that cost onto insurance carriers, which works out to about $730 a year for every ratepayer, he said.

"Business does end up paying for those uninsured," Maidlow said.

Business pays, and those currently insured pay. As the rates keep going up, more people can't afford insurance, which creates more uninsured, which makes the rates go up... and the spiral continues until the inevitable collapse.

This is a problem that needs to be addressed now, and the Governor has a plan on the table to make it affordable. We are waiting on the Feds.

To qualify for MI Health, applicants would have to earn no more than 200 percent of the poverty level -- or about $40,000 for a family of four -- to have a "no frills" benefit package, said T.J. Bucholz, a state Department of Community Health spokesman. The hope is to offer private market insurance at no cost, he said. Others would pay premiums according to a sliding scale.

"It's not going to be Cadillac coverage, but it will be a general program for individuals to have general health coverage," he said.

Benefits could cover outpatient, preventive, mental health and dental services.

My case is not unique. There are thousands like me; too rich to qualify for any aid, too poor to actually afford insurance or health care. We fall through the cracks, and then we end up costing you a fortune if something bad happens.

What happens if we lose Granholm? My guess is this plan goes bye-bye, or gets so convoluted that it only helps the insurance companies make more money or excludes the working poor once again. "Health savings accounts" are a joke when you have no money in the first place.

Dick is pushing those health savings accounts, and, his answer to the currently uninsured? Let's just say it really isn't an answer at all.

From Granholm's blog-

Witness Dick DeVos' recent statement on increasing health insurance coverage: he said that the best approach is "to give [uninsured people] access to a job, and to a job that, if it doesn't give them access to health care, puts them on a track to where they will be able to have access, to a position that will have health care."

There ya go. Get a job. If that doesn't work, get a different job. Still can't afford it? Too bad for you.

Granholm is down in South Carolina at the annual Governor's meeting talking about health care- and the picture across the nation is one of experimentation on the part of the states. Since the federal government won't address the issue, I imagine we are going to end up with a bizarre patchwork of different coverage across this land. The states who do the best job covering their people will attract the attention of businesses looking to start up or expand.

Let's make sure we get Michigan right- that we get as many people covered as we can. It's the fiscally responsible thing to do, and, most important, it's the moral thing to do.

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Whitecaps - Blown lead results in late inning heroics

Third baseman Mark Haske hit his first home run of the year. What was really cool was that his grandfather was there to see it- and he also won some kid in the XBox seats an Xbox.

I missed the "blown lead" part; I was already headed home. They pulled it out though-

COMSTOCK PARK – The Whitecaps blew a four run lead late in the game, but managed a walk off single by Mike Hernandez in the bottom of the ninth for a 7-6 win over Fort Wayne.

West Michigan carried a 6-2 lead into the eighth inning when David Freese hit a solo home run to make the score 6-3. In the top of the ninth, Whitecaps closer Orlando Perdomo allowed a lead off walk to Jose Lobaton followed by singles to Jodam Rivera and Ray Chang to load the bases with no outs.

Anthony Claggett was then brought in to pitch. He allowed one of the runs to score on a ground out. Will Venable tied the game on a two-out, two run opposite field single. It was the fourth blown save of the season in 31 opportunities for Perdomo and ended a streak of nine consecutive saves converted.

With one out in the bottom of the ninth, Cameron Maybin hit a high pop that was dropped by the second baseman Ray Chang at least 200 feet from home plate in right center field. The play was scored a double.

Maybin was running from second when Hernandez lined a single to left for the winning hit. It was the second walk off hit of the season for Hernandez who hit a 12th inning home run for a 4-3 win over Dayton on May 31.

Couple more pictures, posted special just for the Disembodied Head of Dick DeVos.

Still looking for that unicorn.

Justin Justice hits a bunt single.



Ramon Garcia smiles for the camera.

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Granholm's mercury reduction target just the beginning
Back in da day our teachers in elementary school used to give us mercury to play with as part of a science lesson.

Today they would call out the Hazmat team.

Mercury, a heavy liquid metal, has proven its usefulness over the years in products as varied as thermometers, fluorescent light bulbs, mechanical switches and tooth fillings. But it's a toxin that can wreak havoc on human nervous systems, particularly in children, prompting a nationwide campaign to find alternatives and rid the environment of mercury pollution.

In April, Gov. Jennifer Granholm ordered Michigan's coal-burning electric power generators - by far the biggest producers of mercury - to slash airborne emissions 90 percent within nine years. She had been under pressure from green activists to fulfill a 2002 campaign promise to crack down on mercury.

The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality is developing a set of regulations for power companies in their quest for a 90 percent cutback. A panel of state officials, outside experts and interest groups will advise the DEQ, even as debate continues over how much of a rollback really is needed.

Industry leaders prefer a mercury reduction plan announced by the Bush administration last year. It envisions a nationwide average cut of 70 percent by 2018, although some believe the fine print would give producers considerably longer. Targets would differ by state; Michigan's would be about 66 percent.

Granholm's plan will force electricity generators to invest huge sums developing mercury reduction technology that might not work, imposing higher costs on their customers, says Michael Johnston, regulatory affairs director for the Michigan Manufacturers Association.

"We're already the only nation on the planet regulating mercury, and Michigan wants to go beyond the federal requirement. Talk about a competitive disadvantage," Johnston says.

We wouldn't want to let a bunch of sick children and toxic fish stop us from making a buck, now, would we? Talk about a bunch of cold-hearted, short-sighted, greedy bastards.

It doesn't cost that much-

DEQ Director Steve Chester says nationwide studies suggest the cost of mercury controls would be minimal for electricity consumers - 60 cents a month or less for the typical residential user once the controls are fully in place.

Other states have set this rate, and are challenging Bush's plan as not doing enough-

Industry leaders prefer a mercury reduction plan announced by the Bush administration last year. It envisions a nationwide average cut of 70 percent by 2018, although some believe the fine print would give producers considerably longer. Targets would differ by state; Michigan's would be about 66 percent.

Three other Great Lakes states - Illinois, Minnesota and Pennsylvania - also have set a 90 percent standard. Sixteen states, including Michigan, have filed suit challenging the federal plan as too weak.

It will help with tourism. We could drop the motto, "Welcome to Michigan: Don't Eat the Fish".

Most damage to humans from mercury comes when pregnant women eat tainted fish and pass the toxin to the fetus. Removing that cloud over fish caught in Michigan waters would be "a huge boon to the recreational economy," more than offsetting the costs of filtering out mercury, Shriberg says.

How many sick kids are we talking about anyway?

An even bigger consideration: sparing children from mercury exposure, which has been linked to problems with memory, language, learning and intelligence. Severe poisoning cases have caused cerebral palsy, mental retardation and death, although rarely.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says about 6 percent of women of childbearing age have unsafe levels of mercury in their blood. Scientific reports have estimated the number of babies born each year at risk of neurological disabilities from mercury exposure at 60,000 to 300,000 or more.

And there will be flexibility in the system for business to comply-

Not every plant will have to meet the goal. Unlike the federal government, Michigan won't let big polluters wriggle off the hook by purchasing credits from those with low emissions. But companies will be allowed a "system-wide" average reduction of 90 percent, meaning some of their plants can fall short if others pick up the slack.

Sounds like a great plan. Healthy children, clean environment, not too expensive, gives business time and space to work things out. Win-win for everyone, unless you are a cold-hearted, short-sighted, greedy bastard.

That's your cue, Dick.

Republican Dick DeVos, who accuses the DEQ of over-regulating business, has not said if he will retain the 90 percent standard if he unseats Granholm in November. He probably won't take a position until after the election, spokesman John Truscott says.

Once again Dick won't tell us what he will do, and once again he uses the excuse that he's a clueless moron who says he can't find the information.

"We don't have the resources at hand to adequately study this and come up with a fair decision," he says.

And once again I call bullshit. All of this stuff is available online, certainly enough to come up with a sense of a plan. The DeVos people have plenty of time to hang out on this blog, maybe they would like to hit these sources and actually study some issues before they deem themselves qualified to set public policy-

We've got the EPA, the MDEQ, the Electric Power Research Institute, and Granholm's 2005 report, and those are just for starters, but I'm sure that Dick would like to set up his own commission so he can funnel taxpayer money to his friends and get the results he wants to hear. I bet those results won't include protecting kids or the environment.

Any takers?

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Michigan Liberal :: The Doctrine of Dick DeVos
A handy reference guide to "all things DeVos"- if you follow the link above, the diary at Michigan Liberal has all kinds of links to these points.

So glad to see folks stepping up here- I've been rather tired and muddled lately, letting stuff distract me that shouldn't distract me, but then I obsess about it distracting me and I get more distracted. Heh.

The citizens and voters of Michigan owe it to themselves to become fully informed about the inner workings of Republican Dick DeVos as they make their choice and cast their votes in November.

Who is Dick DeVos and why does he want to be elected governor of Michigan?

The first and most obvious question:

Why does Dick with all those billions at his disposal--who lives the life of a jet setter with all the accoutrements (complete entrée to private jets, helicopters, ocean-going racing yachts, four palatial homes, a private Caribbean island, etc.) want to become governor of a state he portrays is in a crisis of historic proportions?

Secondly, the following questions:

What does the public know about DeVos’ history, his political involvement and his specific issues? Are there critical concerns about Dick’s agendas and his views on social and moral questions that should alarm or concern us as citizens?

Should Dick be able to afford whatever cost what it takes to win the election and become governor, all four branches of state government: the house, the senate, the state supreme court and the executive would then be under a potential DeVos administration’s complete control. The process of legislative and governmental change and the setting of a new tone or a radical state level revolution will be made much easier. Michigan would once again become the laboratory of extreme right experimentation in preparation for more national aspirations.
Many proposed changes in taxation, vouchers, reproductive rights, the right to organize and belong to a union, public education, insurance, investment in infrastructure, aggressive privatization of civil functions, pensions, Medicaid, and the environment would all be under the influence and power of a political buyout in devious Dick’s hostile takeover of Michigan.

DeVos’ campaign would have people believe that Dick DeVos holds no past position on a given issue. The fact is Dick and Betsy DeVos’ money, inside and outside the RNC, and active participation in a long list of radical right organizations and movements leaves a clear trail of evidence on what his ideals and beliefs are and how the DeVos doctrine has been formed over years and years of financing, campaigning, influence peddling and political favors for profit.

Listed below are some of the elements of DeVos doctrine and DeVos funding and political relationships which demand clarification and further disclosure:


-Aggressive privatization of public services
-Harvesting of public funds by private companies and business interests
-Elimination of the Single Business Tax (SBT) and other special favors to big business
-Anti-union pro right to work state without representation agenda
-Privatization of social security and healthcare
-Funding raids on state pensions and health care benefits
-Rejection of the historic principles of separation of church and state
-Christian Dominionist ideal that America should be officially a “Christian Nation”
-Taxpayer funded vouchers for private religious education
-Evangelical centric prayer and curriculum in public schools
-Vigorous expansion of for-profit charter schools
-Opposition to equality and equal rights for women and minorities
-Opposition to reproductive rights
-Public display of the Ten Commandments
-Promotion, legitimization and expansion of off-shoring and outsourcing
-Continued transfer of US capital and intellectual property flight to communist China
-Elimination of tax obligations of business and individuals thru estate tax and tax havens
-Insurance coverage and financial services revisions
-Environmental degradation by legislation and by executive order
-Opposition to stem cell research and other biomedical related advances
-Vigorous pursuit and political leveraging of anti-gay provisions
-Covenant marriage (faith based restrictions) via state marriage licenses
-Radical reductions in Medicaid--ala the proposed Blunt Model in Missouri
-Degradation of support systems for state welfare and aid to the poor and disadvantaged (ala Marvin Olsaky and the Acton Institute)
-Establishment of “faith-based” control of public funding for welfare and other social programs

Dick and his highly paid or pro bono professional advisors with their nefarious tactics would rather that inquisitive citizens not delve in to these dark side ideologies and agendas. If the DeVos team can focus all the attention on the narrow topic such as the economy and jobs they are more than happy.

Do not be fooled, this list of far right sectarian objectives is being pushed and polished by the Foundation for Traditional Values (FTV), a DeVos family funded and promoted religious political cartel that organizes and utilizes conservative Fundamentalists, Pentecostals, conservative Catholics, church pew political campaigning, and an assortment of other divisive tactics to pursue political objectives.

The objectives of the FTV are those of Christian Dominionists, members of the Council on National Policy, Free Congress Foundation, Family Research Council, Third Century, Christian Freedom Foundation, Federalist Society and other ardent activist groups and individuals who actually believe it’s their mission to dominate US policy and politics for the purpose of being solely in charge of the government religiously for those who claim to seek a pure “Christian Nation” under such tag lines as “Restoring the American Dream” and “Our Godly Heritage”.

Without a ranging debate and discussion on the DeVos Doctrine the public will be denied a proper understanding of the ramifications and dangers of DeVos’ long term and sub Rosa efforts to put Michigan politics into his religious cohort’s framework using his slick soap selling style.

Many Michiganders will doubtless see little out of place in the recitation of DeVos doctrine. Only the thousands of angry former Amway/Alticor distributors and Republican and conservative insiders have had any real contact with Dick, who remains silent on issues that matter.

Some lobbies, not interested or willing to turn a blind eye for their own profit to a the radical social agenda of DeVos, organizations such as the Michigan Chamber of Commerce and other government and tax-haters, will welcome his limited public face and sparse set of position statements that fit hand-in-glove with their goals and desires.

While business expects, based on DeVos promises and insinuations which he will never "put in writing", to harvest big profit and benefits and the politicized religious hold faith they will find salvation from a DeVos administration, the rights and the freedoms of everyone else will be subject to increasing elements of doctrine of a nascent theocracy under Dick DeVos.

Well. Isn't that special.

Don't say you weren't warned.

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Maddux amazing as LA wins rainy finale
Fighting the urge to e-mail this to Hendry about 600 times. Something tells me I would get into trouble.

It might be worth it.

The Dodgers acquired Greg Maddux not really knowing what to expect from his 40-year-old arm, but certainly not expecting what he gave them Thursday night.

Maddux fell a rain delay short of his first career no-hitter. It was intact through six innings, but after a 46-minute interruption, he stepped aside for the bullpen to combine on a two-hitter and a 3-0 shutout of the Reds, completing the series sweep and running the resurgent Dodgers' win streak to six.

"His presence just makes everybody's game rise up, just by him being out there," said Olmedo Saenz, whose two-run homer in the first inning was enough support. "We all know his accomplishments. He's a winner. You know he wants another World Series. What else is there for him to play for? He's an example to follow."

So, there he is. A craftsman on the mound, an honest intellect off it. For all the excitement his flirtation with a no-hitter caused outsiders, he knows and the Dodgers know he hasn't thrown a complete game this season, and only one shutout in the last five years. He had made 22 previous starts this year and held the opposition scoreless in only one of them, gone beyond the seventh inning only three times, never into the ninth.

He said he's come back from delays after two or three innings, but never after throwing 72 pitches. Although this was his third consecutive victory and fourth win of the year against the Reds, he praised his defense and implied that he got away with some pitches that could have been hit.

I doubt he would have pitched a no-hitter or even a complete game, but you never know...

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New plate packs in Michigan symbols
Love the colors, but the fact that it has the Amway Grand Plaza on it... well, let's just say I'm less than thrilled about that right now. You understand why.

Not that the Mackinac Bridge isn't a potent symbol of Michigan.

But as the state's new commemorative license plate recognizes, there's much more than the Mighty Mac to single out for celebrating the Great Lakes State.

There's Detroit, for one, and the Motor City gets its due on the new Spectacular Peninsulas plate with a rendering of the city's most recognizable building: the Renaissance Center, now headquarters for General Motors Corp. How's that for a one-two punch for heritage?

The RenCen is clearly recognizable as part of the composite cityscape in green across the top of the new plate, which will go on sale in January. Look closely and you'll see the state Capitol building to the far left and, in the middle, Grand Rapids' Amway Grand Plaza Hotel -- giving central and west Michigan their props.

The cityscape abuts a wheat field and then a pine forest evocative of the Upper Peninsula. The Mackinac Bridge, dominant on the Great Lakes Splendor plate that the new tag will replace, is smaller but still majestic, stripped across the bottom of the plate.

In the center of the plate, between two sets of letters or numbers, is a small map image of Michigan amid the blue of the Great Lakes.

A standard design will still be available.

The news you've been hearing lately about new plates involves two kinds. First is Michigan's plain old standard blue plate. It's being put out to pasture as of Jan. 1 and replaced with a white plate with blue letters, made to be more reflective so police can more easily read them.

That new standard plate eventually will be the most widely used one because it will cost drivers nothing to replace when renewal time comes.

I actually have a bicentennial ('76) one around here somewhere- wonder if they would let me use that.

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Governor's campaign begins running its own ads
Here we go...

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan's Democratic governor is finally jumping into the political ring with her first campaign ad, which begins airing Thursday.

The 30-second ad, entitled "Gas Gougers," criticizes "obscene oil company profits" and features Granholm saying she's fighting back on behalf of motorists.

"On the day of the terrorist attacks, 9-11, when some gas stations tried to gouge their customers, I stopped them; I took them to court; and made them pay customers back," she says, referring to actions she took as state attorney general.

"As governor I've sent new inspectors across the state to end price gouging. While others would protect oil companies, I've told the president to cap their outrageous profits. I'll stand up and fight back against anyone who threatens your paycheck and I'll put you first," she adds.

The ad shows Granholm speaking to voters. Campaign spokesman Chris De Witt declined to say how long the ad will run statewide, but noted that "it is fair to say that before this is all over everyone in the state will have had an opportunity to have seen this ad many times."

Greg McNeilly takes a shot, before jumping on the bandwagon...

DeVos campaign manager Greg McNeilly said Wednesday that the Granholm ad "is largely based on something she was grandstanding on as attorney general."

Grandstanding? She prosecuted these people. She also signed new legislation in May to increase penalties on gougers.

"You'd think after four years she'd have something positive to say about herself. In this ad, she barely touches on it," he said.

That's because she is about the people, not herself. Not once have I heard Dick say that he would listen to the people on, well, anything.

McNeilly added that DeVos agrees with Granholm's criticism of federal officials.

"We don't think Washington has done enough on gas prices," he said.

Well, Dick, why don't you call up some of your Republican buddies in DC? You would think that after all the money you have given them, they would do something for you.

Whatever her ad is like, it has to be better than the Schwarz - Walberg festival that is going on now. Yeesh.

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Michigan Caucus: Dick DeVos' Work to End Politics as Usual

MUST see video.

These guys never fail to crack me up.

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