Another medical report points out harm caused by deadly secondhand smoke

We already know secondhand smoke causes cancer, heart disease, stroke, dementia and non-fatal diseases, such as asthma, inner ear infections, major depression and other afflictions in non-smokers, but there may also be a link to breast cancer.

An international panel of researchers convened by the University of Toronto and chaired by the university's Neil Collishaw, M.D., found after its review of several recent studies and meta-analyses that exposure to secondhand smoke was causally linked to breast cancer in premenopausal women. It’s unbelievable that with all of these studies on the negative effects of secondhand smoke piling up, the workplace smoking ban in Michigan was delayed.

It’s ironic that Speaker of the House Andy Dillon, D-Redford, is the one who threw a monkey wrench in the works. Publicly he has said he supports the ban, but he is the one holding it up. He also said back in January during the swearing in of the members of the 95th Michigan Legislature that one of his goals was to pass a workplace smoking ban before the Legislature breaks for the summer next month.

But he is the one stopping it. It is the advocates of the working smoking ban, two-thirds of Michigan voters, that got Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop to finally allow a vote last year, and they are now directing their attention to Dillon. I have defended him numerous times, but it’s time for him to do what he said he would do. Call him today at (888) 737-3455 or email at andydillon@house.mi.gov and tell him to do the right thing.

Don’t let Bishop off the hook. He can act on Senate Bill 114 at any time. He can be reached at (877) 924-7467 and senmbishop@senate.michigan.gov. It’s ironic that he wants to be the Michigan Attorney General to protect the citizens, but he refuses to protect the almost 80 percent of Michigan residents who do not smoke from a health hazard that without a doubt causes harm and kills.

GOP blogger continues fake outrage

LANSING -- Can the Republican Party get any more petty, desperate and pathetic? You bet.

The guy who runs the official, unofficial GOP blog, “Right” Michigan, stood out in the rain Thursday to video tape people arriving at a lunch time fundraiser for Sen. Hansen Clark, D-Detroit, at the Michigan Beer & Wine Wholesalers Association. He then put the images to the theme song for the TV series “Cheers” coupled with images of the Bush recession to try and make the impression that the world would come to an end because a lunch fundraiser was being held.

See, the huge crime was that you could also get a beer at the Michigan Beer & Wine Wholesalers Association. The lunch was just one of about seven events held in Lansing on Thursday to get the attention of lawmakers, two were held at the Michigan Beer & Wine Wholesalers Association alone. In fact, there were four held at that very building this week, and more will be more held there next week.

He made a big deal of the event being held at 11:30 a.m. Apparently, in his world lunch is evil Next Tuesday Rep. Tory Rocca, R-Sterling Heights, is holding a fundraiser at the very same time and same place on Tuesday. Will he be there with his camera? I doubt it.

If this is all the Republicans have; no wonder they are the minority party.

Another roadblock thrown up in the quest for clean and healthy air

Just when you think you have seen everything certain members of the Legislature can do to thwart the will of the people to enact a workplace smoking ban that has the overwhelming support from both Michigan residents and lawmakers, the House Regulatory Reform Committee has found a new one.

After reversing an earlier plan to table voting out a bill until the summer, the Committee met Wednesday to vote out a flawed bill that exempted casinos, but Chair Bert Jobson, D-Detroit, pulled a fast one and tabled a vote at the last minute, saying he wants to work out a compromise between House Speaker Andy Dillon, D-Redford, and Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop, R-Rochester.

Gee, I thought that was what a confrere committee was for.

All this does is give Bishop more cover to kill this bill. He only allowed a vote last session after intense pressure from supporters of the bill. Johnson also used the old excuse that the Legislature cannot do two things at one time, saying work can’t be done on the smoking ban because the budget is the priority. How can 148 people work on the budget deficit, and the function of committees is to work on a variety of issues.

Last session the House passed a bill that exempts casinos and the Senate passed a version with no exceptions. The conference committee could not reach - or refused to reach - a compromise between the two versions and the bill died.

According to subscription only MIRS, “Johnson said he was not told what to do by the leaders, but since the smoking ban was going to have a "negative economic impact," it was better to hold back any vote.”

Please show me any proof of "negative economic impact.” That is simply not the case, and study after study from the 35 states that have a ban prove that.

This is simply a cop out, at best. We need to pass something, no matter how flawed, to get the ball rolling and force people to act.

The GOP continues to be as predictable as snow in January

Republicans are getting pretty predictable these days, and a couple of hot news stories prove that: the news that U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter has come out of the cold and joined the Democratic Party and the Swine Flu epidemic.

Shortly after the long-time Pennsylvania Senator made the painful, personal decision to leave a party he had spent a lifetime supporting, the attacks from the Republicans began in earnest. Instead of placing the blame where it belongs - for their lack of relevance - they attacked Specter.

Gee, who could have predicted that?

RNC Chair Michael Steele issues a statement to party faithful shortly after the news saying, Specter “…committed a purely political and self-serving act today. He simply believes he has a better chance of saving his political hide and his job as a Democrat.”

The latter part of that statement is true, he does have a better chance of getting elected as a Democrat, but Steele fails to explain why that is. That is the same reason many former loyal Republicans voted for Democrats last November: the hard right turn of the GOP. The fact is party left them, they didn’t leave the party.

Steele gets even further unhinged saying, “Arlen Specter handed Barack Obama and his band of radical leftists nearly absolute power in the United States Senate.” “Radical leftists?” Is he serious?

I have heard some people say – taking a Faux News line – that Democrats shouldn’t be so gleeful because if you look at Specter’s voting record, he is really a Republicans, but he will be just wearing Democrat's clothing.

You might want to tell Steele that because he claims Specter has a “left-wing voting record.” I wish I had a dollar every time Steele used the word “leftist” in his rant. The good news is Democrats have a big tent, and when Sen. Al Franken is finally seated we will have a filibuster proof majority.

Rightwing hatemongers like Ann Coulter-wannabe Michelle Malkin are blaming illegal immigrants for the Swine Flu pandemic, much like the plague was blamed on the Jews. “I've blogged for years about the spread of contagious diseases from around the world into the U.S. as a result of uncontrolled immigration,” Malkin wrote. She ignores, of course, that the biggest group carrying the virus to the U.S. has been a group of prep school students in New York after vesting Mexico.

I wish the weather was this easy to predict.

Minority party reduced to fake outrage

LANSING – It must really be tough being a Republican these days.

The good news for the Republican Party, however, is that is has fit into its role as the minority party quite nicely. President Barack Obama has an approval rating of 68 percent in the first 100 days, so the GOP is reduced to criticizing him because he uses a teleprompter, he shook the hand of an elected leader of a country the right hates or the First Lady shows her arms too much. The biggest debate in the RNC is what false smear to use against Democrats. The front runner appears to falsely labeling Democrats as “socialists.”

But here in Michigan the GOP will not be outdone for pettiness and grasping for straws. The guy who runs the official, unofficial GOP blog, “Right” Michigan, is taking Lt. Gov. John Cherry to task for hosting a fundraiser for Sen. Hansen Clark on Thursday at the Michigan Beer & Wine Wholesalers Association that has an open bar. Really, is this all you got?

His fake outrage is that it’s a lunch fundraiser and there is an open bar at the Michigan Beer & Wine Wholesalers Association. I’m sure people in Lansing will be shocked. It’s kind of funny because this guy claims he was once a House staffer, so I’m surprised at his false outrage.

When the House is in session you can rest assured there will be luncheons, fundraisers. lobby days and demonstrations to get the attention of lawmakers or draw attention to thier issue. On any given day you can see a giant duck on the lawn of the Capitol to some nut hauling around a giant pink fiberglass pig.

Unfortunately, money helps people win elections, and fundraisers are common in Lansing. Usually, they are held in a few venues in Lansing, such as the Governor's Room at Karoub Associates and the Michigan Beer & Wine Wholesalers Association. In fact, there are four scheduled this week at the Wholesalers Association, and both parties take advantage of the excellent service they provide.

I have been to a few of those, and I will be at one this week. There is a small bar there – as the photo shows, and I have never paid for a drink there. Granted, I have always ordered a Coke, but I am assuming if you want a Budweiser it will not cost you anything. However, to be honest, I have never tested this theory because I am not much of a drinker.

He is making a big deal of the fact that it is being billed as a "Mid-Day Fun-Raiser,” and they are urging people to Support a "two hour moratorium on dry political fundraisers.” The fact is all fundraisers try and find a theme to draw people and to standout from the numerous other fundraisers and invitations that cross the desks of lawmakers.

Then he claims, “The event is scheduled to begin thirty minutes after the Michigan Senate is gaveled into session this Thursday.” That is a complete lie, but not uncommon for this guy. Senate sessions always begin at 10 a.m., and the fundraiser is scheduled for 11:30 a.m.

Cropsey may declare war on Canada over Ambessador Bridge

State Sen. Alan Cropsey, R-DeWitt, appears to be ready to declare war on Canada because they are not willing to give a GOP benefactor a permit to land a second Ambassador Bridge on Canadian soil.

Grosse Pointe billionaire and Republican benefactor Matty Moroun wants to build a second span next to the current Ambessador Bridge - only one of two international border crossings in the country in private hands - but the Canadian and U.S. government wants to a new public-private bridge at a site located downriver from the current Ambassador Bridge at the site of the Detroit River International Crossing (DRIC) Study. Cropsey and Senate Republicans have pulled out all the stops to help Moroun keep his monopoly, going so far as to threaten arrest and to hold up the Transportation Budget to get their way.

Canadian Ambassador to the United States Michael Wilson spoke at a teleconference sponsored by Michigan State University's Canadian Studies Center last week, and according to subscription only MIRS, he said building a new Detroit/Windsor bridge at a site located downriver from the Ambassador Bridge is "a top priority of the government of Canada.

Cropsey called Wilson’s support and comments on the DRIC study “absolute hogwash."

The Ambassador Bridge crossing is the busiest border crossing in North America. More than $200 billion in trade went between the U.S. and Canada through Michigan in 2008.Canada does not want to grant permit to land the new Ambassador Bridge on the Canadian side because traffic on the Canadian side of the Ambassador empties into a city street in downtown Windsor, and trucks must go through 17 stop lights to reach the freeway. Backups can be as long as 5 miles, and Canadian officials do not want to see more traffic dumped onto city streets.

Cropsey said Canada is trying to force the U.S. to pay for an "enormous boondoggle" in the DRIC. Asked what would happen should Canada refuse to grant permits for a second Ambassador span to be built, Mr. Cropsey said, "If Canada doesn't want to have trade with the U.S., that's their problem."

I’m not sure what he means. Senate Democrats are accustomed to his browbeating, insults and threats, but it’s something new to Canadian officials. I’m not sure if Cropsey plans on calling out the Michigan National Guard or what to stop trade that directly supports 7.1 million U.S. jobs, 221,500 Michigan jobs, and one in three Canadian jobs.

Livingston County has more self-appointed community censors

One thing there is no shortage of in Livingston County is self-appointed community censors, and the latest are Oceola Township resident Mary Pruneau and Iosco Township resident Marta Soto.

The two are urging a boycott of the recently opened Family Video store in Howell after discovering they apparently have a small room in the back where you can rent X-rated videos. Apparently, deciding not to rent one is not enough for the pair, and they want to tell you want you can and can’t rent, too.

The pair wrote letters to the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus, and because it apparently was a slow news day they picked up on it. Livingston County has a history of such self-appointed censors, like the group that tried to censor mannequins at Victoria’s Secret.

A group of parishioners at Green Oak Township's Holy Spirit Catholic Church launched a letter writing campaign against the Victoria’s Secret store in the then new Green Oak Village Place in the fall of 2006 because they were dressed in lingerie. A few days later the group also targeted a new adult video, lingerie and novelties store in Brighton.

At about the same time that group was in full swing, the anti-gay hate group called LOVE - (Livingston Organization for Values in Education) launched its book-banning quest; first with the book “The Freedom Writers Diary: How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them” and then it went after Nobel Prize winning author Toni Morrison's first novel, "The Bluest Eye," and an acclaimed memoir written by Richard Wright in 1945, "Black Boy, " as well as the classic Kurt Vonnegut novel "Slaughterhouse Five.”

Like many people, I was surprised the store had an x-rated section. The Family Video store opened just a month or so ago, and I joined shortly after that. I like the inexpensive prices, including free kid’s movies. Since joining I have rented at least a couple of movies every week,

The newspaper helpfully listed the titles of some of the adult titles available, such as Blondage," “Girls Behind Bars,” “Bad Wives" and "Girls Get Hot." After renting movies there, I know anyone would invite the embarrassment of the clerk saying, “Terminator 2 is due back Wednesday and Girls Get Hot is due back Saturday.”

It’s great to see a new business thriving in the City of Howell. For a number of years the location was a sporting goods store, but it moved to a new location a few miles east down Grand River Avenue to a strip mall in Genoa Township. The single building housed a shoe store for a few months, but they left, too.

After sitting empty for some time, the company that owns Family Video gutted the building but for a few walls and developed a beautiful building. I’m not sure how many people it employees, but it would be a shame if a few small-mined people cost employees their jobs.

I have some simple advice for Ms. Pruneau Ms. Soto: don’t rent them. Better yet, go to Blockbuster, but stop the ridiculous boycott.

Pruneau makes the false claim that pornography “increases violence toward women.” That’s simply not true. The problem with that argument is that even though pornography is more widespread and available than ever online, violence against women is down. Since 1993, according to the FBI crime statistics, rape is down 72 percent and other sexual assaults have fallen by 68 percent. Even in the last two years, when the FBI reported up ticks in violent crime, the number of rapes continued to fall.

Workplace smoking bill is back on track

LANSING -- Despite House and Senate leaders saying earlier this month they would not address the workplace smoking ban, the House Regulatory Reform Committee is holding a hearing on the ban on Wednesday.

House Bill 4377, introduced by Rep. Rep. Lee Gonzales, D-Flint, is on the committee’s agenda that will meet at noon on April 29 in room 326 of the House Office Building in Lansing, and the meeting is open to the public. The bill, unfortunately, has exceptions for so-called "cigar bars" and casinos, but it’s a start. The committee is expected to actually take a vote on the bill.

Obviously, the pressure from the two-thirds of Michigan residents who support the ban got the bill untracked. This is the fourth hearing on the ban this session, and the last one was held on April 1.