tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-357189182012-01-26T11:20:41.872-05:00The Conservative MediaThis is a platform to comment on local, state and national politics and political news. A special area of interest is the role of corporate media in politics as we move closer and closer to one huge corporation owning all of the media outlets in the country and stifling all independent and critical voices. It will also focus on the absurd 30-plus year Nixonesque political strategy of the “liberal media” lie.
This blog is on temporary hiatus because of my job and thin-skinned Republicans.Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.comBlogger16101100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-71570317956604700782011-04-29T07:06:00.004-05:002011-08-16T07:13:54.481-05:00Study shows smoking ban has improved the health of hospitably employees
Sunday will mark the one year anniversary of the day Michigan’s popular workplace smoking ban went into effect, and a study just released by Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH) shows the law did what it was supposed to do: protect bar and restaurant employees from deadly secondhand smoke.
The added bonus is that the smoking ban has not hurt business in bars and restaurants, but it Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-6004055426558078852011-04-22T07:17:00.003-05:002011-08-16T07:13:00.834-05:00Indoor smoking will soon be dead in all 50 states
The dirty dozen has shrank to the smoky seven, but a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says all 50 states could have smoke-free worksites, restaurants and bars by 2020 if current trends continue.
As Michigan approaches the first anniversary of May 1 when the popular workplace smoking ban went into effect, only Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-492000853276811432011-04-13T07:40:00.004-05:002011-04-13T07:50:33.040-05:00GOP budget plan is ‘Ludicrous and Cruel’ and ‘radical, almost otherworldly’The proposed budget by the U.S. House Republicans really illustrates what the Grand Oil Party really stands for: throwing money at the super rich while shredding the social safety net and attacking the poor and the middle class.Nobel Prize Economist Paul Krugman calls the budget floated by Paul Ryan “Ludicrous and Cruel” saying it is “voodoo economics …with an extra dose of fantasy, and a large Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-59383879011321578052011-04-12T12:03:00.002-05:002011-04-12T12:09:38.295-05:00Moroun spreads cash and misinformationIt’s old news that Republican billionaire benefactor and Ambassador Bridge owner Matty Moroun is spreading misinformation and lies in order to keep his monopoly on the busiest commercial border crossing in all of North America, but as the public-private partnership for the planned Detroit River International Crossing (DRIC) bridge inches toward a reality, he has pulled out all the stops.Most Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-39959763742188025722011-04-11T07:31:00.004-05:002011-04-11T10:28:13.196-05:00Make your voice heard at the Capitol WednesdaySome 10,000 people will be in Lansing on Wednesday April 13 to protect the working poor and middle class at the We Are the People Rally.The rally is being organized by the Michigan State AFL-CIO, AFSME and Working Michigan. To accommodate working people who work different shifts, it will run from 1-6 p.m., and because of that, new people will be arriving all day. Last month more than 5,000 were Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-60161145664379396112011-04-08T07:33:00.003-05:002011-04-08T07:38:44.503-05:00Teabggers want to shut the government down while trying to blame DemocratsU.S. House Republicans, egged on by their masters the teabggers, are refusing to comprise on the current budget and are angling for the first government shutdown in 15 years as of midnight tonight while trying to blame the Democrats for it.Congressional leaders are negotiating around-the-clock negotiations, but clearly Republicans are not negotiating in good faith. Republicans are insistent in Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-59058701463090275002011-04-07T07:49:00.003-05:002011-04-07T07:56:12.186-05:00Good news for progressives: Kloppenburg win and Beck demiseIn a preview of the 2012 election, JoAnne Kloppenburg was elected to the Wisconsin Supreme Court on Tuesday over the incumbent in a backlash to the union-busting attempt by teabagger Governor Scott Walker.In a usually slow March election, voter turnout was very high, and Kloppenburg unseated incumbent David Prosser, a Walker pal who made it very clear how he will vote when the hastily passed Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-45458684162620932352011-04-06T07:24:00.003-05:002011-04-06T07:35:28.542-05:00Median CEO pay jumped 27 percent in 2010While teachers, police officers, firefighters and public employees are being blamed for the Bush recession that has state and local governments struggling to balance their budgets, and public employees have made large concession of pay and benefits, there is some good news: median CEO pay jumped 27 percent in 2010.According to a USA Today analysis of data from GovernanceMetrics International, Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-27343987949782663732011-04-05T07:51:00.002-05:002011-04-05T07:56:51.831-05:00The right has to stoop to imposters to try and paint unions as violentThe right is spinning out of control trying to paint your neighbors, friends and relatives as “union thugs” simply because they are standing up for their civil right of collective bargaining.The massive crowds protesting the right's assault on public sector unions have been peaceful, and it is driving the right crazy that no one is buying their lie that they are violent. The leading rightwing Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-17858243440997218602011-04-04T07:24:00.004-05:002011-04-04T08:33:57.685-05:00Anniversary of MLK assentation also a day to show support for collective bargainingOrganized labor has long marked the anniversary of the senseless assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King on April 4 1968 in Memphis, Tenn. Because he long recognized collective bargaining as a civil right and risked his life to protect it, but this year the anniversary has special meaning with the all-out attempt by Republicans to roll back that important civil right.Beginning with worship Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-70493027773460915052011-04-01T08:49:00.001-05:002011-04-01T08:50:22.279-05:00Governor Snyder's First Three Months on the JobCommunications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-31989595605934779632011-04-01T08:20:00.002-05:002011-04-01T08:23:51.837-05:00Snyder ignores thousands of residents to meet with aging Texas rock starThousands of Michigan voters have been in the Capitol to try and get their voices heard on the disastrous budget proposal by Gov. Rick Snyder and his union-busting efforts, but he can’t find the time for them. It’s seems ironic that a non-resident can then get a personal audience with him.Draft-dodger, philanderer and Texas resident Ted Nugent got a one-on-one private meeting with Snyder to talk Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-85681487415730985722011-04-01T07:44:00.003-05:002011-04-01T07:54:32.245-05:00Rightwing Republican think tank continues to use FOIA for intimidationYou have to wonder if it's a case of the chicken or the egg with the use of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by the rightwing Republican think tank “Mackinac Center for Public Policy to intimidate and to dig up dirt on opponents.The partisan Republican think tank, financed by right-wingers like the rightwing billionaire Koch Brothers, submitted a FOIA request last week to the labor studies Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-27461753220885817702011-03-31T08:10:00.004-05:002011-03-31T14:06:59.875-05:00Michigan now offers the fewest weeks of unemployment in the nationMichigan Democrats are working on a bill to restore the six-weeks of unemployment Republicans lopped off a bill the Governor signed on Monday.The Governor signed House Bill 4408 into law on Monday, despite every single Michigan U.S. Democratic Congressman and groups like the Michigan League for Human Services urging him to veto it. The bill was meant to reduce fraud and clear up some technical Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-53695133758733204502011-03-30T07:13:00.003-05:002011-03-30T07:18:25.769-05:00Nurses and public education supporters converge on Lansing todayLANSING – Things are quiet here in the Capitol city in the first week of a two week spring break where the House and Senate are not in session, but there are at least two protests and demonstrations set for today, as well as a couple of stealth-like committee meetings.The Michigan Nurses Association is town today, Wednesday March 30, for a conference at the Lansing Center, and at 1 p.m. they willCommunications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-66195707101264241652011-03-29T07:07:00.002-05:002011-03-29T07:11:28.216-05:00Time to end the corporate welfare gravy trainWith the Republicans in the U.S. Congress proposing cuts to successful and useful programs; like Planned Parenthood, Head Start, Pell Grants, NPR, nutrition grants for pregnant low-income women, the Environmental Protection Agency and many others, they continue to ignore that fact that corporations are not only reaping record profits, but many are not paying any income taxes and some are getting Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-89496928723473109362011-03-28T11:54:00.004-05:002011-03-28T12:46:30.665-05:00Senate Democrats move to protect voter’s choices and the School Aid FundLANSING - Senate Democrats announced today at a press conference that they will be introducing a constitutional amendment to guarantee money from the state’s School Aid Fund is dedicated to K-12 education and not diverted to the general fundThe amendment comes in response to Gov. Rich Snyder’s budget proposal which would divert money from the School Aid Fund to pay for other measures of the Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-80977997292132095632011-03-28T07:14:00.002-05:002011-03-28T07:17:29.650-05:00RNC may sell democracyIt appears the Republican National Committee (RNC) is taking a cue from the Livingston County Republican party and charging a fee for democracy.CNN is reporting that the RNC is considering selling the broadcast rights for debates between its presidential sacrificial lambs to news outlets. That’s not at all surprising from the party of big money. It was something the local party did but on a much Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com35tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-15648688857216830052011-03-25T07:54:00.002-05:002011-03-25T07:57:24.697-05:00Save the "We the People" programThe National Republicans are using the Bush recession to go after their favorite things they love to hate, like unions, Planned Parenthood and NPR, and some other essential program may fall victim to Republicans job-killing cuts, the "We the People" program.We the People is a nationwide program developed by the nonprofit, nonpartisan Center for Civic Education. The group’s mission is to foster Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-43378881152373333862011-03-25T07:19:00.003-05:002011-03-25T07:27:17.543-05:00Rightwing Koch brothers also bankrolling union busting crusade in MichiganMichigan Gov. Rick Snyder’s plan to bust public sector unions and replace local control with centralized power in Lansing with this army of unelected and all-powerful emergency financial managers (EFM) has ties to the same union busting effort in Wisconsin.Mother Jones magazine did a piece on the EFM bills Snyder signed into law earlier this month that gives an EFM, after just two days of Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-15962460878764639382011-03-22T07:22:00.002-05:002011-03-22T07:27:18.302-05:00HHS students rising above intolerant history of communityYoung people in Livingston County are doing what they can to overcome the county’s racist and intolerant past, and that is why students at Howell High School chose to put on the play “The Laramie Project,” a play about the aftermath of the beating death of a gay student in Wyoming in 1998.The students will give their final performance of the play tonight at 7 p.m. in the drama room of the high Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-12904151948100168162011-03-21T07:13:00.003-05:002011-03-21T14:43:18.587-05:00Celebrate the first anniversary of the historic health care insurance reformWednesday will mark the first anniversary of the historic Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the largest overhaul of the health care system in decades.Passage of the historic health care insurance reform lowers the cost of health care, increases the number of health care providers, holds health insurance companies accountable, improves the quality of health care and extends health Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-53746322999701985042011-03-18T07:19:00.003-05:002011-03-18T07:24:05.103-05:00Senate Democrats move to protect civil rightsLANSING – Senate Democrats heeded the voices of the more than 5,000 working people who jammed the Capitol on Wednesday, and on Thursday they introduced Senate Joint Resolution I that would amend Michigan’s Constitution to guarantee every worker the right to organize and collectively bargain.The Resolution was sponsored by Senate Democratic Leader Gretchen Whitmer, D-East Lansing, and it was Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-50133032981719069992011-03-17T07:21:00.003-05:002011-03-17T07:25:10.579-05:00A constitutional amendment to protect a civil right is proposedLANSING –The most popular thing that came from Wednesday’s pro-working family rally at the Capitol aimed, primarily, at the anti-Democratic Emergency Financial Managers (EFM) package of bills was the announcement that House and Senate Democrats plan to be introduce an amendment to the Michigan Constitution to guarantee the right of Michigan workers to collectively bargain.Senate Democratic LeaderCommunications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-29645719646341723082011-03-16T07:32:00.002-05:002011-03-16T07:39:02.421-05:00Republicans going after school districts that have been prudent with fundsLANSING -- With the final approval of the anti-union and anti-Democratic Emergency Financial Managers (EFM) package of bills in the House on Tuesday it’s not much of a stretch to believe there is a conspiracy afloat to bust public sector unions.Rick Snyder’s proposed budget cuts $100 million in state revenue sharing to local counties, townships, cities and villages already struggling to balance Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-12633594026929034052011-03-14T07:47:00.002-05:002011-03-14T07:53:18.430-05:00The middle class will make their voices heard in Lansing this weekIt will be a busy place in Lansing for the next couple of days as people from all over the state are stepping up to voice their concerns over Republican policies that are taking the state back years, taking away their right to vote for their leaders and busts unions.A group of community activists are organizing “A Storm the Capitol” rally beginning at 9 a.m. Tuesday at the Corner of Michigan Ave.Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-63194559737016473042011-03-11T10:08:00.004-05:002011-03-16T06:47:23.683-05:00Two-day wonders have more power than elected officialsNow that the smoke is slowing beginning to clear after the Senate Republican’s approval of the anti-union and anti-Democratic Emergency Financial Managers (EFM) package of bills on Wednesday, people are very surprised when they discover how much power this person, appointed by the State Treasurer with no oversight and with no confirmation process after a two-day training session, really has.As weCommunications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-48639851870991102172011-03-10T08:22:00.002-05:002011-03-10T08:27:58.337-05:00Senate Republicans approve anti-union and anti-Democratic EFM package of billsLANSING – The only jobs the Michigan Republicans have created since taking office in January are those for Emergency Financial Managers (EFM) after the Senate Republicans passed the anti-union and anti-Democratic EFM package of bills on WednesdayThe package will make it easier for financially troubled municipalities and school districts to be taken over by an emergency financial manager, and the Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-69388195911312767462011-03-09T21:44:00.004-05:002011-03-09T22:03:55.405-05:00GOP sneak attack proves union-busting had nothing to do with the budget"In 30 minutes, 18 state senators undid 50 years of civil rights in Wisconsin," said Democratic Sen. Mark Miller in a statement after Wisconsin Senate Republicans pushed a provision stripping public employees of their collective bargaining rights through the state Senate on Wednesday evening after finding a way to bypass the chamber's missing Democrats and the Open Meetings Act. This simply Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-52635518828556850682011-03-09T11:11:00.003-05:002011-03-09T11:16:02.237-05:00Al Franken is the speaker at Jeff-Jack DinnerYou will want to get your tickets early for the Michigan Democratic Party’s 2011 Annual Jefferson-Jackson Dinner because the guest speaker is US. Minnesota Senator Al Franken.The fundraising dinner will be held next month on April 16 at Cobo Center in Detroit. Franken was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2008 in one of the most contested races in U.S. history that took more than five months to Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-312166218818261942011-03-09T08:27:00.002-05:002011-03-09T08:33:10.706-05:00Racist show-me-your-papers’ law is bad for Michigan’s economyYou had to know this was coming with the crazy bills being introduced by Republicans all over the country, and an extremist rightwing Republican here in Michigan is set to introduce a racist show-me-your-papers’ law like they did in Arizona last year.State Rep. Dave Agema, R-Grandville, is apparently concerned about the huge illegal immigration problem here in Michigan, and this despite the fact Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-72485591707390198092011-03-08T15:08:00.003-05:002011-03-08T15:14:43.678-05:00Senate Republicans ignore the people and move anti-union and anti-Democratic EFM billsLANSING – Despite thousands of workers packing the Senate gallery on Tuesday morning chanting “kill the bill,” the Senate Republicans ignored them and moved the anti-union and anti-Democratic Emergency Financial Manager (EFM) package of bills to the third reading.The bills can be voted on as early as Wednesday and sent to the Governor for his signature. The EFM package, House Bills 4214-4218, Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-53462033587756465282011-03-07T15:42:00.002-05:002011-03-07T15:52:10.470-05:00Senate Republicans give Snyder appointees a free passLANSING – Michigan Senate Republicans completely neglected their statutory duty of advise and consent, and none of Gov. Rick Snyder’s department heads will face a confirmation hearing.The 60-day window expired on Monday, and not a single Snyder appointee had to face a Senate hearing. It’s even worse when you consider Snyder wants to give more power to the Emergency Financial Manager (EFM) who canCommunications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-86859278050058264522011-03-07T08:11:00.002-05:002011-03-07T08:16:40.317-05:00Rally on Tuesday to protest anti-worker and anti-voter billsThe Michigan AFL-CIO and the United Auto Workers of Michigan (UAW) are organizing a pro-worker rally in Lansing on Tuesday March 8 to peacefully protest the anti-union and anti-Democratic Emergency Financial Manager (EFM) package of bills.The Senate is expected to take up Senate Bills 153-158 that will make it easier for financially troubled municipalities and school districts to be taken over byCommunications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-88908512760980779832011-03-04T13:37:00.003-05:002011-03-04T13:42:56.055-05:00Wisconsin Governor plans to start killing hostagesWisconsin Gov. Scooter Walker is going to start killing the hostages at 4 p.m. today, Friday, in his quest to kill the public sector unions in Wisconsin. Walker created a financial emergency by giving away huge tax breaks to corporations that supported him in order to get concessions from the public sector unions that did not endorse him in the election, but he is going even farther and wants toCommunications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-24930848716897186542011-03-03T22:06:00.004-05:002011-03-03T22:14:11.914-05:00Americans do not support Republican union bustingAnother day, another poll that shows Americans do not support Republican attempts to steal the civil right of collective bargaining from public employees.A poll from NBC and the conservative Wall Street Journal discovered that Americans strongly oppose efforts to strip unionized government workers of their rights to collectively bargain. In fact, 62 percent of those surveyed said stealing those Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-67564395738477586032011-03-03T08:28:00.003-05:002011-03-03T08:32:59.701-05:00Conspiracy to start a riot may land Wisconsin Governor in hot waterThe prank call last week to extremist Republican Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin not only exposed that that he was just trying to bust the public sector unions by trying to take away their collective bargaining rights by creating a financial emergency, but he may now be in some legal trouble.Walker thought he was talking to sugar daddy David Koch, one of the Koch brothers who has bankrolled Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-24889195082110408812011-03-02T08:14:00.003-05:002011-03-02T15:58:25.594-05:00Former Michigan Supreme Court Justice ignores legal election with union busting decisionYou had to know this was coming with the rash of Republican attempts at union busting, and yesterday new rightwing Department of Human Services director and former Michigan Supreme Court Justice Maura Corrigan announced the state will stop collecting union dues from 16,500 private day care providers and will no longer fund the agency in charge of their union.Despite the fact that a majority of Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-122602085816773642011-03-01T21:29:00.003-05:002011-03-01T21:38:19.958-05:00Anti-union EFM bills in Committee WednesdayThe big government bills that will bust public sector unions and disenfranchise voters will be up for a vote in the Senate Education Committee on Wednesday, March 2.The committee will take up House Bills 4214-4218 that will make it easier for financially troubled municipalities and school districts to be taken over by an emergency financial manger (EFM), and the bills give the EFM almost Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-25179024380173980562011-02-28T20:32:00.003-05:002011-02-28T20:42:55.996-05:00The public does not support GOP union bustingDespite an all out war on collective bargaining and unions by Republicans like Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, the public is simply not buying it.A CBS/NYT poll released today shows a majority of people have a favorable opinion of unions. Public employees and their unions have been the biggest target of Republicans since the November election, and they are being blamed for municipalities teetering Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com36tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-44710367086573723892011-02-27T11:34:00.004-05:002011-02-27T14:03:32.387-05:00County commissioner calls teachers, police officers and firefighters animalsThere is no doubt that the latest round of union-busting by Republicans is about politics because union, workers and the middle class tend to support Democrat, but the hate coming from the right is just amazing.Only in their world are teachers, police officers and firefighters thugs and animals, but that’s what at least one elected Republican thinks. Pro-worker rallies were held all over the Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-21241956130960046062011-02-25T08:36:00.002-05:002011-02-25T08:43:11.852-05:00Pro worker rally set for Saturday in the CapitolWorking citizens all over Michigan plan to gather at the State Capitol in Lansing at noon on Saturday, Feb. 26 to make their voices heard on the unacceptable attacks on the civil rights of workers, to protest the tax shift from the rich and powerful to the middle class and the working poor and to urge the Legislature to focus on creating jobs instead of union busting.The rally will run from noon Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-58527164496069863482011-02-24T09:28:00.002-05:002011-02-24T09:47:32.237-05:00Prank call shows Walker wants to bring union busting to MichiganIt was pretty clear to most people that extremist Republican Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin was trying to bust the public sector unions by trying to take away their collective bargaining rights by creating a financial emergency, but he confirmed his goal was union busting on Tuesday after he was phone pranked by a liberal blogger.Besides proving he wasn’t very smart and easily duped, the call Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-57533235883218800082011-02-23T22:09:00.004-05:002011-02-23T22:20:38.755-05:00Republicans vote for big state government to usurp local democratically elected officialsLANSING -- House Republicans struck a blow for bigger government, against local control and disenfranchising voters when they approved a package of bills that gives dictatorial like powers to state-appointed emergency financial managers (EFM). On Wednesday House Bills 4214-4218 and 4246 were approved almost along party lines, 62-47 with one Republican voting no because it makes it easier to Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-68324894939123206252011-02-22T21:35:00.002-05:002011-02-22T22:16:04.164-05:00First of two pro-union demonstrations have large and peaceful turnoutLANSING -- Some 1,500 workers turned out to lobby their lawmakers and protest Republicans stealth attempt to bust public sector unions.The House debated the anti-democratic and union busting House Bills 4214-4218 that give Emergency Financial Mangers (EFM) more power, including the ability to disenfranchise voters and terminate contracts negotiated with labor unions in good faith. Republicans Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-80953309080570682802011-02-21T13:21:00.003-05:002011-02-21T13:34:57.451-05:00Teabaggers looking to cause and record confrontationsYou knew this was coming: Michigan residents are rallying at the Capitol in Lansing tomorrow on Feb. 22 to protect precious collective bargaining rights that people literally gave up life and limb to win, but it appears teabaggers are organizing a counter rally at the same time to try and provoke a confrontation.Something called the “Southwest Michigan Patriots” is organizing a “Tea Party Rally” Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com72tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-41804840804166277742011-02-19T17:01:00.003-05:002011-02-22T22:17:04.155-05:00Michigan residents taking to the streets to protect worker’s rightsWisconsin residents are taking to the streets to fight their governor’s attempt to bust public sector unions, and Michigan residents will do the same next week.Republicans in Michigan are trying the same thing, but they are much sneakier about it. Last week they voted anti-democratic and union busting House Bills 4214-4218 out of committee that will repeal Public Act 72, the current law governingCommunications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-19950145088415829182011-02-18T08:52:00.002-05:002011-02-18T08:57:56.005-05:00Michigan Republican’s war on the middle class and labor is priority oneThe Michigan Republican’s war on the middle class and labor continues to go at top speed with complete disregard for the consequences.Less than two weeks after introducing bills in the Michigan House that will repeal Public Act 312 of 1969 that allows binding arbitration of labor disputes for municipal police and fire departments, the bills, House Bills 4205 and 4206, are already headed to Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-59038770730507339442011-02-17T22:32:00.004-05:002011-02-17T22:45:48.024-05:00Snyder’s budget shifts taxes from corporations to kids, senior citizens and workersLANSING -- Gov. Rick Snyder’s proposed budget he presented to the legislature on Thursday raises taxes on the most vulnerable and shifts taxes from corporations to kids, senior citizens and workers.Reaction to the budget proposal was negative and widespread, with one Senate Republican saying Snyder’s proposal to tax pensions was a “non-starter.” Gilda Jacobs, the President o of the Michigan Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-55445553629247442712011-02-16T21:58:00.003-05:002011-02-16T22:07:55.507-05:00Wisconsin workers react to having their rights stolenAmericans don’t like having their rights stolen, and public employees in Wisconsin are reacting to having their rights stolen by taking to the streets in masse in Madison.Extremist Republican Gov. Scott Walker is trying to strip state workers of their collective bargaining rights, and more than 10,000 Wisconsin residents who love freedom marched on the state Capitol on Tuesday.According to Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com36tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-83461815718902530802011-02-15T22:36:00.002-05:002011-02-15T22:40:51.109-05:00Union busting bills on the fast trackLANSING -- Michigan Republicans are putting bills on the fast track that places dictator-like powers in the hands of unelected officials with no oversight who are appointed from Lansing.The House Local, Intergovernmental and Regional Affairs Committee took testimony on House Bills 4214-4218 on Tuesday that will repeal Public Act 72, the current law governing emergency financial managers (EFM) , Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-1373734534245341712011-02-14T11:17:00.004-05:002011-02-15T22:36:19.882-05:00Bills will make state-appointed emergency financial managers virtual dictatorsThe next time you hear the Republicans talking about how they want less government and prefer local control, don’t buy it.Michigan House Republicans are debating legislation they introduced last month that could lead to earlier intervention by the state in financially troubled communities school districts and almost dictatorial like powers for state-appointed emergency financial managers. Rep. AlCommunications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-35632645309483954242011-02-13T22:29:00.004-05:002011-02-13T22:44:23.784-05:00‘Clean coal’ chasing clean jobs out of MichiganDETROIT -- So-called “clean coal” was a major topic of discussion for a panel sponsored by the Michigan Democratic Party Environmental and Energy Caucus at the party’s winter convention at Cobo Hall Saturday.The panel featured Rep. Ellen Cogen Lipton, D- Huntington Woods, Rep. Jon Switalski, D-Warren, a member of the House Energy and Technology Committee, and Cyndi Roper, State Director of Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-20119895665635179632011-02-12T23:31:00.006-05:002011-02-13T10:09:32.490-05:00MDP Convention energizes baseDETROIT – Reverend Wendell Anthony, the President of the Detroit Branch of the NAACP, fired up the crowd at Detroit’s Cobo Hall on Saturday at the Michigan Democratic Party Convention, giving the party faithful the zeal they will need to take back the country and the state in 2012.“We are letting Glenn Beck steal the dream of Martin Luther King and turning it into a nightmare,” he said.Thousands Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-4241065223861841112011-02-11T15:59:00.003-05:002011-02-11T16:11:43.883-05:00Wisconsin Governor ready to call out National Guard to bust unionRepublican politicians in both Michigan and across the nation are attacking the unions and the working class at an unprecedented rate; busting unions, rolling back hard-fought workplace protections and widening the gap between the rich and regular people.It has gotten so bad that new Republican Gov. Scott Walker says the Wisconsin National Guard is prepared to respond wherever is necessary in theCommunications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-34412030725497733912011-02-11T08:19:00.002-05:002011-02-11T08:24:14.245-05:00MDP convention on tap SaturdaySaturday will be the first step toward taking back the Michigan House, the U.S. House, defending the Democratic U.S. Senate, and re-electing President Barack Obama in 2012 when Michigan Democrats gather in Detroit’s Cobo Hall on Saturday for the Michigan Democratic Party Convention.The theme of this year’s convention is, “The Comeback Starts Now,” and will focus on improving Michigan’s economy Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-84084702917539808742011-02-10T08:20:00.003-05:002011-02-10T14:36:20.010-05:00Republican union-busting attempts go after police and firefighter unionsThe Republican assault on the middle class, public employees and unions continues in Lansing, and this time they are going after firefighters and police officers.Rep. Joseph Haveman, R-Holland, introduced House Bills 4205 and 4206 on Tuesday that will repeal Public Act 312 of 1969 that allows binding arbitration of labor disputes for municipal police and fire departments. This act has long been aCommunications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-73045733951245180022011-02-09T07:57:00.001-05:002011-02-09T07:59:34.780-05:00White Shirt Day marks the historic Flint Sit-down strikeWorking people all over Michigan will be wearing white shirts on Friday to mark an anniversary of a courageous event that helped create the middle class and gave workers of all stripes and occupation across the U.S. dignity and a safer place to work.White Shirt Day marks the historic Flint Sit-down strike, the first of a series of sit-down strikes against General Motors at Fisher Body Plant No. Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-18399248803202607532011-02-08T21:38:00.003-05:002011-02-08T21:49:49.964-05:00Senate Republicans give the finger to the working poor and the GipperLANSING -- Senate Republicans made it official today when they introduced a bill to eliminate something that GOP Saint Ronald Reagan called the “best anti-poverty, the best pro-family, the best job creation measure to come out of Congress.” Sen. Roger Kahn, R-Saginaw, introduced Senate Bill 103 on Tuesday that will kill the popular and effective Michigan Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), and they Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-70833044281689548772011-02-07T08:04:00.002-05:002011-02-07T08:12:22.534-05:00Snyder caught cooking the booksMany people are aware of Gov. Rick Snyder’s questionable past business practices, but he is apparently bringing some of those practices with him to the public sector when he was busted last week for cooking the books to try and make it look like public employees are overpaid.The only plan Snyder has let out of the bag on how he plans to make up an estimated $1 billion budget deficit is on the Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-61571995042750511522011-02-06T14:59:00.002-05:002011-02-06T15:14:10.550-05:00Right-wingers continue violent and hateful false rhetoric against their favorite boogiemanThe right-wingers have no intention of toning down their violent and hateful false rhetoric, and in fact they have doubled down on it for their favorite boogieman, self-made billionaire and humanitarian George Soros.I’m on the email list of a scumbag group called the “tax day tea party,” and they are going after Soros for a column he wrote in the Washington Post on the Middle East and the Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-87939838941873229382011-02-04T08:44:00.003-05:002011-02-04T08:49:31.648-05:00Facing a $23.2 million cut, school builds $60 million football stadiumLast month in his second of eight State of the Union speeches, President Obama talked about the sobering fact that countries like China and India have realized the importance of educating their children earlier and longer, with greater emphasis on math and science, and they are in a much better position to compete for new technology jobs.He also said that over the next decade, nearly half of all Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-65514860585396210562011-02-02T20:27:00.004-05:002011-02-02T20:45:03.183-05:00Republican's assault on teacher’s unions comes at the expense of good public policyThe Republican’s answer to a problem caused by technology brought to light by an anti-teacher’s union witch-hunt is a bill that goes after unions.The late anti-union activist Chet Zarko launched a fishing expedition back in 2007 by filing a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) with the help of teabagger and former Howell School Board member Wendy Day seeking emails to embarrass the Howell teacher’s Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-71038716710631273452011-02-02T10:44:00.003-05:002011-02-02T11:01:23.060-05:00Republicans want only the middle class and the working poor to sacrificeThe “shared sacrifice” new Gov. Rick “Chief Executive Outsourcer” Snyder talks about and budget cuts national Republicans want will only come from the middle class and the working poor.National Republicans will continue the polices that are making the U.S. a banana republic and ushering in a new “Gilded Age,” and Snyder wants to kill the Michigan Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), the most Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-12458337382481204772011-01-31T22:50:00.004-05:002011-02-01T10:03:32.257-05:00Palin and Bachmann need to read a history bookThe brain power of two of the leading potential Republican presidential nominees, half-term Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and bat shit crazy Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, is underwhelming.Bachmann, who apparently speaks for the teabaggers, gave the teabagger response to the President’s State of the Union address last week. Why I have no idea. But in one of her more notable quotes on theCommunications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-8737636681800181802011-01-30T22:19:00.004-05:002011-01-30T22:28:14.525-05:00MDP Gun Ownership Caucus wants common sense gun controlThe shooting earlier this month of Democratic U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords in Arizona that killed six people and wounded 13 others illustrates clearly that common sense gun control is needed, but I heard a brief and interesting debate on Saturday from the chair of the Michigan Democratic Party’s Hunting, Fishing, and Gun Ownership Caucus, Jim Pedersen, that may shed some new light on Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-970122580353498012011-01-30T10:58:00.003-05:002011-01-30T11:04:38.280-05:00Senate Democrats go back to work to increase voter turnoutState Sen. Steven Bieda, D-Warren, is on a mission to ensure voting is easier and more convenient for Michigan residents.On January 20 he introduced Senate Bill 49 that will allow no reason absentee voting. The Democratically-controlled House approved House Bill 4367 by a vote of 79-30 with 12 Republicans joining the entire Democratic caucus in approving the bill last session, but like the Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-27603996515472821342011-01-27T08:41:00.003-05:002011-01-27T08:49:02.331-05:00The solution to the epidemic of gun violence is more guns?Every time I hear of a shooting, whether intentional or accidental, I always joke that the response from some 2nd Amendment zealots will be that the solution to the epidemic of gun violence is more guns, and that is, apparently, one Republican Michigan Senator’s response to the tragic shooting in Arizona; more guns.Sen. Mike Green, R-Mayville, introduced Senate Bills 58 and 59 on Tuesday that Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-91549982232985889332011-01-26T08:17:00.002-05:002011-01-26T08:19:44.402-05:00The President inspires with his second of eight SOU speechesPresident Barack Obama laid out a clear path for continued recovery that will require sacrifice and inspired confidence in his second of eight State of the Union addresses Tuesday night.“We are poised for progress,” he said to a standing ovation. “Two years after the worst recession most of us have ever known, the stock market has come roaring back. Corporate profits are up. The economy is Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-58445972077769590352011-01-25T18:46:00.002-05:002011-01-25T18:58:32.391-05:00Republican candidate forced to apologize for lyingPerhaps the ugliest primary election last August and the one with the most extremist right-wingers got a little more weird after former state Rep. Kim Meltzer, R-Clinton Township, was forced by a court settlement to admit and issue a public apology in writing that her campaign lied about the legislative record of one of her opponents in the race, former Rep. Leon Drolet, R-Macomb Township, duringCommunications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-37122773641631968762011-01-24T08:54:00.002-05:002011-01-24T09:01:59.412-05:00Now is the time to improve health care insurance reformNow that the U.S. House Republicans have placated their extreme base with a purely symbolic repeal of health care insurance reform, they are being urged to stop wasting time and really try to improve health care insurance.Former Republican Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, who is also a medical doctor, said it was important to consider the bill the "law of the land" and move on from there. Now, Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-41679203375477392532011-01-23T16:13:00.002-05:002011-01-23T16:23:29.818-05:00The first assault on the popular and effective workplace smoking is launchedWith the start of the 96th Michigan Legislature two weeks ago, the assault on the popular and effective workplace smoking ban has already begun.Like the last legislative session, Rep. Doug Geiss, D-Taylor, reintroduced a bill to weaken the popular smoking ban that went into effect on May 1. The bill he reintroduced would turn back the clock to ineffective smoking sections, and the bill would Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-21441859359900307822011-01-21T10:47:00.002-05:002011-01-21T10:52:53.519-05:00The repeal of health care insurance reform is just another dog and pony showNow that the dog and pony show in the U.S. House is over and Republicans have placated their base and pretended they repealed health care insurance reform, I want to see the other half of their campaign mantra of repeal and replace.On Wednesday every single Republican voted for the budget-busting repeal of the historic health care insurance reform; another pure show and tell move for the Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-10517157674922259292011-01-20T08:23:00.002-05:002011-01-20T08:31:26.289-05:00DRIC bridge is the highlight of a SOS filled with vague generalitiesWe waited a year for this?New Michigan Gov. Rick “Chief Executive Outsourcer” Snyder has been very vague on how he plans to reinvent Michigan since he launched his campaign last year with an expensive Superbowl ad, and people were hoping they would finally hear some actual details when he gave his first State of the State address Wednesday night. Instead, we got very few details and a very Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-12246286447429921292011-01-19T08:17:00.003-05:002011-01-19T08:21:34.508-05:00First SOS will be another pep talk filled with platitude and no detailsLike his campaign and his inaugural speech, new Michigan Gov. Rick “Chief Executive Outsourcer” Snyder’s first State of the State address tonight will be void of any details.Like the AP said, “Michigan teachers, state workers, business groups and others eager to hear what new Gov. Rick Snyder plans to do are waiting for his first State of the State address” will get a pep talk filled with more Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-55263033946709977412011-01-18T12:51:00.003-05:002011-01-18T13:04:38.756-05:00First order of business for House GOP is to shrink the middle classIt appears Michigan House Republicans are ignoring the wishes of new Republican Gov. Rick Snyder, and one of the first issues they plan to take up is the union busting so-called “Right to Work” law.Rep. Marty Knollenberg, R-Troy, introduced House Bill 4054 on the first real session day of the 96th Legislature on Jan. 13 that would establish so-called “Right to Work” zones. Snyder said something Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-69749698335620390642011-01-14T09:02:00.002-05:002011-01-14T09:16:41.642-05:00The real death panels are in ArizonaThe false, debunked talking point of so-called “death panels” invented by the right and popularized by former half-term Alaska Governor and failed GOP Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin to kill health insurance reform was a bad fairy tale, but it appears there are real death panels, at least in Arizona.According to CBS News, second person denied transplant coverage by Arizona under a Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-18405353842433975302011-01-13T08:25:00.002-05:002011-01-13T08:32:46.431-05:00Palin plays the victim; no questions please“Have you no sense of decency at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?”That quote is from Joseph Welch, the lead counsel for the United States Army while it was under investigation by Joseph McCarthy's Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations for Communist activities delivered to McCarthy in June of 1954, but it could also apply to former half-term Alaska Governor Sarah Palin afterCommunications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com52tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-84628299288509755432011-01-12T08:30:00.002-05:002011-01-12T08:35:12.900-05:00Editorial board wants activist judges in FOIA witch-hunt caseThe Republican controlled editorial board of the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus is falling over themselves to blame the non-conservative majority on the Michigan Supreme Court for something they had nothing to do with. Late last month the Michigan Supreme Court denied an appeal to overturn an appeals court ruling that would have released thousands emails under the Freedom of Information Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-55971854475310048372011-01-11T08:53:00.003-05:002011-01-11T09:01:32.777-05:00Local teabgger group sponsoring false attack on the U.S. ConstitutionSomething called the “912 Liberty Tea Party of Western Livingston County” is bringing us nine straight weeks of misinformation, courtesy of Christian historical revisionist and Republican activist David Barton. The counterfeit 9-12 movement is a political scheme hatched by deranged hatemonger Glenn Beck launched on Faux “news” in March 2009 , and the local group is holding a screening of Barton’Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-18879534854958674242011-01-10T14:21:00.003-05:002011-01-10T14:28:41.551-05:00Ambassador Bridge company president jailed for contemptKarma ruled the day in the courtroom of Wayne County Circuit Judge Prentis Edwards when Detroit International Bridge Company (DIBC) – that owns and operates the Ambassador Bridge - President Dan Stamper was led off to jail Monday in handcuffs for contempt of court. The jailing, according to the Detroit Free Press, “came as Edwards issued a contempt ruling against the bridge company for failing Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-87049180479630126712011-01-09T22:29:00.002-05:002011-01-09T22:47:05.643-05:00Words have consequencesWords have meaning and consequences, and once again the anti-governments rhetoric from the right may have again claimed innocent victims.The shooting on Sunday of Democratic U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords in Arizona that killed six people and wounded 13 others by an apparently deranged college student may not have been committed by a right-winger, but the hateful anti-government rhetoric Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com37tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-91893634060391811492011-01-07T09:59:00.004-05:002011-01-07T10:19:09.771-05:00House Republicans plan performance art on the House floorThe piece of performance art that will be launched next week on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives by House Republicans in a vain attempt to repeal the historic health care insurance reform bill passed last March will add, if successful, $230 billion in the first decade and roughly one-half of one percent of GDP, or over a trillion dollars, in the second decade, to the budget deficit,Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-31560150917564827052011-01-06T15:51:00.004-05:002011-01-08T16:41:30.753-05:00What ‘shared sacrifice’ will Snyder makeWe have heard very little details from new Gov. Rick “Chief Executive Outsourcer” Snyder, and that’s what we got from him in his inaugural speech where he said, “ It will require shared sacrifice from all of us.”We’re still waiting for both details on how he plans to balance the state budget and "reinvent" Michigan, as well as what sacrifice he plans to share. The only details we have heard is Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-56052207982793565472011-01-06T08:37:00.003-05:002011-01-06T08:45:30.881-05:00Lobbyist press release passed off as news spins the effect of the smoking banIt’s expected that trade groups and lobbyists will spin the facts, but we don’t expect the conservative mainstream media to do it.We saw an example of that in the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus on Wednesday when they did a story on the effect of the recently enacted popular workplace smoking ban on bars and restaurants. The story looked like little more than a press release from the Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-15900998853717724452011-01-03T21:31:00.003-05:002011-01-03T21:54:30.123-05:00Vain attempt to kill health insurance reform is politics as usualAfter the November election, it seemed like the Republicans would actually help in governing the country instead of the same old stuff of doing nothing but obstruction and throwing stones, but the first vote in the new U.S. House shows its politics as usual.House Republicans plan to hold a vote next week when they take control of the House to kick students up to age 26 off their parent’s health Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-86280681772430348132011-01-01T15:56:00.003-05:002011-01-01T16:14:46.551-05:00Annual list of banished words ‘repudiates’ former half-term Alaska GovernorHappy New Year, and with the New Year comes the annual “List of Words Banished from the Queen's English for Misuse, Overuse and General Uselessness” by Lake Superior State University. The Upper Peninsula public university, one of 15 public universities in Michigan, released the 36th annual list, and it was not kind to the half-term former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. It included a few of her Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-11881679561725993512010-12-31T13:20:00.004-05:002010-12-31T13:40:38.945-05:00Pro-smoking lobby launches another misguided protestThe pro-smoking lobby refuses to accept facts, the will of the people and the law, and they have planned another ridiculous and vain “protest” set for tonight.Another fly-by-night Facebook groups is claiming some bar owners - unnamed of course - will break the law and will allow patrons to light up after 9 p.m. tonight, New Years Eve. The pro-smoking lobby is clinging to the absolutely false Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-16704897778844024182010-12-30T19:22:00.005-05:002011-04-01T07:17:23.599-05:00Supreme Court puts an end to FOIA witch-huntThe Michigan Supreme Court denied an appeal today to overturn an appeals court ruling that declined to release thousands emails under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), putting an end to the three-year witch-hunt to embarrass the teacher‘s union.Anti-union activist Chet Zarko, who passed away last summer, filed the FOIA in 2007 with the help of teabagger and former Howell School Board member Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-88602770926192357912010-12-30T14:42:00.003-05:002010-12-30T14:51:33.709-05:00President Barack Obama is the most admired man in AmericaFor the third year in a row, President Barack Obama is the most admired man in America according to a USA Today-Gallup poll. But he does not come close to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who was named the most admired woman for the ninth year in a row. The USA Today-Gallup survey, conducted Dec. 10-12, is based on telephone interviews with a random sample of 1,019 adults and has a Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-21802082204464385922010-12-29T23:02:00.003-05:002010-12-29T23:14:23.433-05:00O'Donnell calls investigation ‘politically motivated’ but falls short of calling it a ‘witch-hunt’In a move that can surprise no one, failed U.S. Senate teabag candidate Christine O'Donnell is under investigation by the U.S. Justice Department for violating federal law by diverting campaign funds for personal use.She is a professional political candidate - losing three times - with a sketchy employment history who has lied about her education and defaulted on her student loan and her mortgageCommunications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-62331882411168764312010-12-29T17:50:00.005-05:002010-12-29T18:29:14.674-05:00Appointment means SOS will not be nonpartisanWe are learning why Republican career politician and Secretary of State-Elect Ruth Johnson refused to take an Oath of Nonpartisanship during the election like Democratic candidate Jocelyn Benson did.As my friends at Living Blue pointed out, Johnson - the state’s elections administrator - hired Hartland Township resident Allan Filip as the SOS’s “director of external affairs.” County residents Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-40254279404880688572010-12-28T11:12:00.004-05:002010-12-28T12:04:49.957-05:002010 was a year of sweeping positive changeThe past year was one of sweeping change that will have a positive effect on the lives of Americans for generations to come, on both a state and national level.Those changes came even though the national Republicans were the most obstructionist in history, In fact, over the last two years; Democrats broke more filibusters than any Senate in recorded history. Here are the top stories of 2010:1 Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-56646358559819549972010-12-23T10:30:00.002-05:002010-12-23T11:02:43.992-05:00Palin wins tough fight to be named ‘Misinformer of the Year’In a year of stiff competition, former half-term Alaska Governor and current Faux “News” contributor Sarah Palin was chosen as “Misinformer of the Year” by the media watchdog group Media Matters. The rightwing has had a great year misinforming, lying and spinning, and it culminated in the November elections, but Palin stood head and shoulders above the usual crowed. Past “winners” include Faux “Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-67074623065259685782010-12-22T12:54:00.003-05:002010-12-22T13:01:24.151-05:00Overall sales tax collections in restaurants and bars are up after smoking banWorkplace smoking bans have never hurt business, and a report released Monday from the state Department of Treasury proves that, and it found that overall sales tax collections in restaurants and bars were up 2.84 percent over last year.The workplace smoking ban that includes bars and restaurants went into effect on May 1, and despite the down economy in the country, tax receipts are up. This Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-48443977244925912872010-12-21T10:08:00.003-05:002010-12-21T10:21:45.299-05:00Mitch “puppet of the rich” McConnell named Scrooge of YearSenate Minority Leader Mitch “Yertle the Turtle” McConnell, R-KY., was named Scrooge of Year in Jobs with Justice’s eleventh annual national contest to determine the greediest, most cold-hearted person or company of the year. A small number of Senators, led by rightwing Mitch “puppet of the rich” McConnell, have spent this Congressional session aggressively blocking almost all legislation from Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-46609765568381787362010-12-20T10:04:00.003-05:002010-12-20T10:10:09.352-05:00Rightwing think tank thinks a tax on cigarettes is worse than smugglingThe rightwing think tank Mackinac Center for Public Policy thinks that because criminals break the law we should do away with the reason they break the law instead of increasing enforcement.Last week the Mackinac Center released its annual report on cigarette smuggling and found, again, that Michigan has one of the highest smuggling rates in the country. According the the Mackinac Center, “Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-63431303138328878682010-12-19T20:14:00.003-05:002010-12-19T20:31:01.171-05:00Senate votes to kill the discriminatory and unconstitutional Don't Ask, Don't Tell policyAfter 17 years the discriminatory and unconstitutional “Don’t ask, don’t tell” (DADT) policy is all but history after the Senate voted 65-31 on Saturday to end the Clinton-era policy banning gays from serving openly in the military.The Senate followed the lead of the House that passed the ban on Wednesday, and eight Republican senators joined almost the entire Senate Democratic caucus to approve Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-25656368347316272562010-12-16T09:31:00.003-05:002010-12-16T09:38:50.094-05:00Republican politicians display stunning hypocrisy on health care insurance reformAmericans United for Change is calling out U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, on his hypocrisy of saying repealing the historic health care insurance reform law is his “top priority,” yet he has no problem accepting his own government-subsidized health plan.In response to Upton’s declaration earlier this week that his “top priority will be full repeal” of the Affordable Care Act, progressive Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35718918.post-77338743789385926492010-12-16T08:23:00.003-05:002010-12-16T08:29:06.184-05:00Repeal of discriminatory DADT strikes a blow for enhanced military readiness and equalityThe U.S. House took a major step toward equality and enhanced military readiness on Wednesday when they voted to repel the discriminatory and unconstitutional “Don’t ask, don’t tell” (DADT) policy. The House approved the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Repeal Act of 2010” by a vote of 250-175 that allows gays to serve openly in the military. This is the second time the House voted to kill the ban. The Communications guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15039487955952973487noreply@blogger.com0