Our children desperately need liberals, progressives and moderates

Calling all liberals, progressives and moderates who care about public education and their community to run for school board. The filing deadline for local, nonpartisan school board elections in May is the close of business Feb. 14.

While finding quality candidates is an issue for all of Michigan’s 549 public school districts, it’s an even more important issue for Livingston County’s five school districts, and for the county’s largest school district, Howell Public Schools, it’s absolutely critical.

Unfortunately for Livingston County residents, our Congressman, our state Senator, our two state Representatives, our entire Board of Commissioners and all the partisan offices except two township board members are Republicans. However, last spring the Republicans apparently were not happy that a few Democrats – especially after Joe Carney, the chair of Livingston County Democratic Party, was elected to the Brighton School Board on his own merits – managed over the years to get elected to nonpartisan school boards, city councils and village councils.

These are the few places where voters in areas dominated by Republicans are forced to actually look at the candidate’s merits, qualification and character instead of just pulling the handle for the person with the R after their name.

For the first time ever, the Republicans in Livingston County decided they didn’t like the nonpartisan label and made endorsements in the school board race. The only place it really was an issue with the often-uncontested races was Howell. The two candidates the party endorsed – ironically – were members of the party’s executive committee. The good news is only of the two were elected, but the bad news is the one who was elected was is an extreme wing nut who home-schools her children instead of enrolling them in the district she helps govern.

Another twist was added last year when an anti-gay hate group calling themselves, ironically, LOVE (Livingston Organization for Values in Education) sprang up in response to a diversity flag they mistakenly labeled a gay pride flag. This hate group fielded its own candidates, and one of them actually won in Howell. Current board member Wendy Day was the only candidate endorsed by both the county GOP and the hate group. Unfortunately, she has another three years on her term. The so-called “love” group plans on fielding more candidates and endorsing in future elections, so we need quality, open-minded moderates, regardless of party affiliation, to combat these people.

Nominating petitions and affidavits for anyone 18 or older wishing to run for a four-year term are available at their county clerk’s office, municipal clerk’s office or school board office. Again, for those of us having the misfortune of living in Republican dominated areas, this is a good way for you to serve your community, get people familiar with your name and get your feet wet in public office based on your merits and not on party affiliation.

For Livingston County residents, Pinckney Community Schools has three seats up for election, Brighton Area Schools has two seats, Howell Public Schools has two, Fowlerville Community Schools has two seats and Hartland Consolidated Schools has one seat.

Livco Democrats exercise their core values with donations to local community food bank

BRIGHTON - Needy people and the hungry in Livingston County will receive more than 11,300 meals in the coming weeks thanks to the efforts of the Livingston County Democratic Party and their supporters.

Party Chairman Matt Evans said Thursday that local Democrats had collected more than $700 in cash and 100 pounds of food to feed the hungry. Party officials delivered the donations to the Gleaners Community Food Bank distribution center in Brighton on December 28th.

Evans said plans are to make this effort by Democrats to remember those in need during the holiday season an annual event. Evans said compassion for those who are less fortunate is a core Democratic value, and this fund drive on behalf of Gleaners gave local Democrats a chance to put their values into action.

Gleaners is the third-oldest food bank in the United States, and it distributes 25 million pounds of good annually, equivalent to 65,000 meals per day. It is the only source of emergency food for persons in need. Gleaners officials said the food bank can convert each $1 donated into 16 meals -or 16 pounds of food - by buying food wholesale. Using the Gleaner’s formula, the $700 donated by local Democrats amounts to 11,200 meals, and the 100 pounds of donated food represent another 100 meals.

Howell soldier arrives home for the last time

Readers of the Livingston County Daily Press and Argus got the opportunity to see a rare sight that few Americans have the opportunity to see, but it’s still something that’s happening all too often.
P and A photographer Al Ward took an excellent and moving photo of the coffin of the latest causality of the war in Iraq arriving at the Livingston Cot Airport yesterday.
The body of Army Spc. Wilson Algrim — the ninth causality of the war with Livingston County ties and the second in just a week — arrived at the Livingston County Airport in Howell Township yesterday escorted by a military honor guard and greeted by family and well wishers.

Although more than 3,000 American soldiers have died in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Pentagon has barred the media from taking any images of the returning coffins, but apparently their reach does not extend to the Spencer J. Hardy Livingston County Airport.

According to the Newspaper, visitation for family and friends will be held from 6-8 p.m. today at MacDonald's Funeral Home, 315 N. Michigan Ave. in Howell. The funeral will begin at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Howell Nazarene Church, 415 McCarthy St., and he will be buried next week in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
Memorial contributions are suggested to the Family Readiness Group, 1101 S. Chavez, Flint 48503. The organization can be contacted at (810) 239-5404.

Unbanned book is unpulled from high school

A book that was banned by Howell Public Schools from its advanced 10th grade English class because of alleged profanity and references to drugs and sex acts was approved for use by the high school’s English and language arts teachers, according to an article in today’s edition of the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus.

The approval for the book, “The Freedom Writers Diary: How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them" comes just the day before a movie based on it is released in theaters starring Academy Award Winner Hiliary Swank.

The book has been a source of controversy for the past couple of months, and its has not helped Livingston County’s image as an intolerant place that discriminates and shuns diversity and other opinions. The school district has taken exception to the word banned, and they say it was just “pulled” for further review after a few parents complained about the book. I’m not all that sure what the difference is between banned and pulled, but apparently there is a difference even if the result is the same.

What this approval by the teachers means is a little unclear to me, or why the approval is news. Late last month the newspaper reported that 17 English teachers at Howell High School signed a statement that said the book was approved and used as a supplemental part of the curriculum by the Howell High School English department last year. Isn’t this new approval what they just did for the second time?

The article today said the district's Curriculum Council had the final approval, and the council meets next week. What the article does not say is who is on the Curriculum Council. Is it all teachers, all administrators or both? Are there any parents on the council or any of the elected school board members? Does the elected school board have any say in the matter?

Today’s article goes on to quote Marybeth Roose, the district's director of community education and communication, as saying parents have the option of choosing another book if this one offends them, but that option has always been there, and it was there before this entire flap began.
"They (parents) are encouraged to contact the instructor, express that concern and a replacement could be assigned," she said. "It would be a book that would achieve the same outcome in terms of instruction, but do it in a different way."

Column gives blog a shout out

Thank you to Livingston County Daily Press & Argus political reporter Dan Meisler for a shout out to our blog today in an opinion column on the Iraq fiasco.

There seems to be no middle ground on which to hash out the issues — only high-pitched rhetoric bordering on the paranoid.
Take, for example, U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers' recent appearance at a funeral for Andrew Daul, a Brighton soldier killed in Iraq. As reported in this newspaper, Rogers, a Republican from Brighton, read aloud from a letter written by the mayor of an Iraqi town.
"Their sacrifice was not in vain," Rogers read from the letter. "Let the world be proud of their sacrifice for humanity."
Sounds harmless enough to me, but in the hands of our local liberal bloggers, it's further proof that Rogers has politicized the war (as if that hasn't happened already). See rogerswatch.blogspot.com for their criticism.
They seem to think that praising the sacrifice of a dead soldier is political. What was Rogers supposed to say? "Gee, now that I think about it, the war was a bad idea and your son's death was unnecessary. Oops." Maybe that would have pleased them.
From reading his comments, it sounds to me like Rogers' speech was appropriate.
Sorry Dan, but I respectfully disagree with you. The full quote that appeared in the Dec. 31 edition of the newspaper was this; “Andrew Daul helped Iraqis while serving in that country. Because of soldiers like him, Rogers said, Iraqis would talk about the greatness of the U.S. soldier, and he read a letter from a mayor of an Iraqi town liberated by U.S. soldiers.”

What could he have said? He could have talked about his bravery in answering the call of his country, his willingness to serve and his dedication to his fellow soldiers. I would have talked about the extraordinary courage that makes a man so young get up every morning knowing the dangers that await him and strap on combat gear and patrol the streets when the risks are so great, and he does this day after day for at least a year. Instead, he chose to continue to try and spin this mess as a war of liberation, but the fact is Rogers has been nothing but a cheerleader for both bush and this fiasco.

The column goes on to say, So where would those bad old bloggers get the idea that Rogers would politicize Iraq?
Perhaps some of his past comments, like one from the floor of the House, equating anti-war politicians with the insurgents in Iraq. Or maybe this one, from an interview with the Press & Argus on the Iraq Study Group's report: "This has been a two-front war ... at home, we've been trying to win people's support for our efforts."

Here’s some more reasons I believe he politicized the funeral that Dan did not have space to mention that came from his own newspaper. “The involvement and support of U.S. efforts in Iraq now will pay off down the road in bringing stability to the region, according to U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Brighton. (P&A 8/29/2003)

(On the 9/11 Commission Report) "They could not find a connection between Saddam Hussein and the 9_11 attacks," he said. "The task of this commission, even though it became highly political, was to look at one event." Rogers said many media reports have distorted the commission's finding by saying it is more far-reaching than it actually is. Rogers said, that the FBI agents he talked to on a recent visit to Iraq have found al-Qaida training manuals and other materials many times when they apprehended bomb-makers in Iraq.
"They found it laughable there was any debate" about the connection, he said.
Rogers added that intelligence from the Department of Defense, FBI, CIA and other agencies indicated contact between Iraqi agents and al-Qaida going back years, in the Sudan, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
"The overwhelming information indicates there in fact was" a connection between Iraq and al-Qaida.” (P&A 6/18/04)

We make progress everyday," in response to a statement by Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), a Marine veteran, that the U.S. is not making progress in Iraq. Rogers asserted that only terrorists and "some politicians" wanted the U.S. to withdraw troops from Iraq. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch 6/16/2006)

Again, Rogers should be commended for taking the time to pay his respects as a U.S. Congressman because we know no one from this Administration ever will, but his decision to politicize the funeral was a bad idea. Dan’s also correct when he says there is “no middle ground on which to hash out the issues,” but I say the fault lies primarily on the right. If anyone suggests anything but “stay the course - what ever that is – you are called a traitor and a terrorist. I have been debating the Iraq fiasco with one of our two wingnut blogers in Livingston County, and you cannot even get them to acknowledge that there were no WMDs and that Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11. The biggest obstacle to overcome is one that they cling to that the Iraq fiasco is the reason we have not had a terrorist attack in the five years since 9/11/2001, ignoring the fact there have been only two terrorist attacks in our country’s 216 year history.

Homophobia groups wage assault on Constitution

A group dedicated to doing away with the 1st Amendment of the U.S. Constitution’s ban on establishing a state religion that’s affiliated with the biggest homophobic group in Michigan is trying to establish a course on the Bible at Howell High School.

North Carolina-based National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools is trying to establish an elective course that will study the bible in a literary context and as history not as doctrine. This group claims the “program is concerned with education rather than indoctrination,” but its website says it want to return the Bible to public schools.

They are also affiliated with the American Family Association. This is the religious group that hates gays that is boycotting Ford Motor Co. because it advertises its products in publications aimed at gays. Those of us in Michigan thank you for that. The Michigan chapter of AFA is headed by undoubtedly the biggest homophobia in the state, Gary Glenn.

Luckily, this backdoor assault on the Constitution’s separation of church and state is being contested by a group called Michigan Atheists. They might have an uphill battle, judging by this misgauged quote from the rightwing reactionary on the Howell Public Schools Board of Education, Wendy Day.

According to the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus, Day further contended the atheist group is inaccurate when it cites the U.S. Constitution as mandating a separation of church and state.
"To state it's a constitutional issue is misleading and inaccurate," she said.

Is she for real? Normally I would support the study of comparative religion and the Bible as literature in public schools, and it does not violate the 1st Amendment if it’s done correctly. One of the best courses I took in college was World Religions, and it changed the way I look at cultural, other countries and the world in general.

If this North Carolina group with its agenda is allowed to develop the curriculum for this course I can guarantee it will violate the Constitution.

We have some of the best state universities in the country right here in Ann Arbor, East Lansing, Ypsilanti, Mount Pleasant and Kalamazoo with excellent liberal arts, Religious and Philosophy departments that can provide excellent curriculum. I don’t want to offend my Spartan readers, but the University of Michigan has been described as the Stanford of the Midwest. Why do me need to go to North Carolina for curriculum when we have the best educational institutions in the country in our own state?

Rogers politicizes soldier’s funeral

U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers chose the funeral of a Brighton solider killed in action to politicize the Iraq fiasco and to continue pushing his defense of the President’s failed policy in Iraq.

Army Spc. Andrew P. Daul, 21, became the 8th of nine soldiers with Livingston County ties killed in Iraq, and the second in the span of just one week. Rogers spoke at his funeral, and anyone would be honored to have a U.S. Congressman to speak at their son’s funeral. Rogers deserves credit for taking the time to attend the funeral and pay his respects to a true hero, but there is no excuse for politicizing it. This is what Rogers said at the funeral, according to the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus.

Not only did he help his fellow soldiers, but Rogers said Andrew Daul helped Iraqis while serving in that country. Because of soldiers like him, Rogers said, Iraqis would talk about the greatness of the U.S. soldier, and he read a letter from a mayor of an Iraqi town liberated by U.S. soldiers.

"Their sacrifice was not in vain," Rogers read aloud from the mayor's letter. "Let the world be proud of their sacrifice for humanity."

Governor’s Inaugural speech inspires

Only Gov. Jennifer Granholm can make the oath of office sound lively and exciting, and she did just that today when she was sworn in for her final term by her mentor, Judge Damon Keith, on the Capitol steps in Lansing in front of some 1,000 brave but cold souls.

I was one of those brave souls, and I had a front row SRO perch, thanks to the place-saving ability of Liberal Lucy of Liberal, Loud and Proud. Following the swearing in of the Governor, Lt. Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, the trustees of the state’s public universities and judges we made our way across the Grand River to the warmth of the Lansing Center to hear the inaugural speeches.

The theme of the scaled down inauguration was “Celebrating the Next Michigan,” and the governor laid out the problems facing Michigan and her slow but study success at diversify our economy by attracting high-tech companies to the state and maintaining our still much needed auto manufacturing base in the face of the disastrous unfair national trade practices.

“We have seen, and we have fought alongside entire communities that have been hollowed out by the ravaging pull of cheap labor from distant lands,” she said. “We all know that our challenges have been decades in the making. And we know that full transformation doesn't happen overnight.”

Her speech was interrupted by applause about a dozen times, especially when she urged legislative and political leaders to put politics aside and act now to begin undoing the problems that the ebbing market share of our state's largest employer has caused over the years and act now.

“Because it will take time, we cannot waste time,” she said. “Feel the urgency. You feel it too. We must act and act now.”

I had the privilege of hearing Anita Baker sing her rousing rendition of the National Anthem, and Whitney Houston has nothing on her. I was a little disappointed at the Invocation of Pastor Dan Miller of St. Joseph. He took an inappropriate shot at newspaper Op-Ed pages in a prayer.

Sen. Carl Levin was the MC, and he acknowledged the great job the governor has done with the mess that was dropped in her lap four years ago.

“She has trimmed more money from the budget than any governor in history, but she still managed to extend health care to 300,000 people, diversified our economy and attracted new businesses to the state,” he said.

Lt. Governor John Cherry highlighted the administration’s fight to bring health care to all Michigan citizens and give every child the means to go to college if they desire. He compared the administration to a ship sailing on the Great Lakes with the governor as the commanding officer, and she has sailed us through some story waters over the past four years.

“She made the tough, gut-check decisions that had to be made to erase the budget deficits we were facing,” he said.

Mayors George Heartwell of Grand Rapids and Kwame Kilpatrick of Detroit led off the remarks. I have heard Kilpatrick speak in the past, but he seemed to me much more mature and more of a leader, and his remarks reflected the theme of Celebrating the Next Michigan when he pointed out the citizens of Michigan have more similarities than differences.

The speech by Attorney General Mike Cox was uninspired at best, and there was good reason why the more than 3,000 people in the Lansing Center sat on their hands during his remarks.

Secretary of State Terri Land’s speech was also unremarkable, but I was intrigued by some of her proposals. I liked her proposal to pre-register 16-year-olds to vote when they get their DL, so that when they are 18 they are already registered. The no response early voting sounded interesting. Perhaps it’s just the verbiage that’s different, but I would prefer no reason absentee voting instead of early voting. Anything that encourages young people to vote and increases voter turnout I support. She also proposed having the Michigan DL serve as the passport, and that will ease problems going to and from our neighbor to the north.