Tag: Grants

Answer: "the performance by a public official of an act that is legally unjustified, harmful, or contrary to law"

...  Think think think

Question: What is malfeasance?

.. Cha-ching!

I wonder if our state senators are as willing to face primaries and an angered base like our reps?

As for Reagan's "The person who agrees with you 80 percent of the time is a friend and an ally -- not a 20 percent traitor", allow this image to put the proper perspective on it.

We've been here before, except our Republicans were actually fighting the unknown aspects of the new socialism coming from Washington.  Now our governor is acting as a conduit of liberties being taken from us, and there are even willing accomplices which we had not expected. This never should have been allowed out of committee, and it it wasn't for the compromised position that Jase Bolger put himself in (Roy Schmidt), it wouldn't even be coming up for a vote.

This was posted on Facebook.  It is reportedly a discussion between Norm Hughes and Michigan State Representative Martin Howrylak:

Martin Howrylak: Norm - I voted against this in committee today and intend to vote against it on the floor tomorrow.

Norm Hughes: Thank you for voting against it, Martin. You are a patriot! The Governor will go across the aisle and get his votes from Democrats. Please work on your colleagues. Thanks

Martin Howrylak: Norm - This thing is going to pass big time. I am standing up for principle on this one. Also, the feds will not let the legislature review the grant document. They say it is classified. My congressman is working to help us get the document released. Can you imagine this? We are supposed to vote on accepting a grant that nobody has had access to. I am flabbergasted that I am the only one asking for this. Quite frustrating.

Norm Hughes: Mike Shirkey is in the same boat. Unbelievable. Gotta pass it to see what is in it? Martin I held highly classified positions in the Federal Government and I cannot imagine WHAT in a health care grant could possibly be classified. Maybe a fillibuster is in order.

How can a grant be classified?  And how could ANYONE even think of voting for something without reviewing it completely?

If this is true, we have a bigger problem than just this one item of malfeasance. Every damned one of those legislators better have a grasp on what they are loading up on Michiganders.  As it is, we will spend the next year recruiting candidates up and down the state especially for primaries of non term limited cretins who vote for this thing without understanding what you are actually taking from us.

I have independently verified there is a communication rift between the feds and our legislators with regard to this.  This from one who will likely vote FOR the measure:

"We have requested from HHS a copy of the federal docs for review and our requests have been ignored."

Unloading a rail line between Chicago and Detroit onto the taxpayers of Michigan, the freight concern just eliminated the high cost of maintenance, liability, and dispatching responsibility, and as a bonus probably got paid for it. According to PFA:

"Thanks to $140 million in federal money, the State of Michigan will reportedly soon be the owner of the Norfolk Southern Railroad line connecting Chicago to Detroit. This is all part of the State's plan to have high speed rail connecting the two cities."

Norfolk keeps the rights to freight travel, which is ALWAYS the most lucrative part of a rail operation, and gets US to pay the weight of the rest. AND the lose all the negatives.

Sweet.

It can happen.  If there is some courage to do so.  I have pledged to introduce legislation and follow through with doing such a thing.  A few hoteliers up here are passing around the hat to keep the incumbent in place, so their meal ticket isn't sent packing.  They are concerned that I will "destroy what they have built", and fortunately there are courageous ones who pass along the internal messaging of that fact.

But in reality what have they built?  Or frankly, what has the MEDC built?

In a radio interview the other morning, I spoke of the MEDC, Lobbying, and Pure Michigan.  I compared the taxpayer paid 'Pure' advertising to what we would have if the state paid for all advertising of business (ala the ACA)  I also mentioned the abuse of our tax dollars being thrown at 'venture' firms, as a program being expanded by sponsorship of my opponent.

We don't need anymore of that, thank you.  In fact, Republicans are supposed to be for SMALLER government.  Further, one might think Northern Michigan Republicans ought to be even a little more conservative on matters of property rights, exclusionary areas, and doling out cash or favors to specific and targeted groups.

Its called "central planning," and its the kind of thing that can be repeatedly demonstrated as inefficient, and costly to land owners, taxpayers, and entire economies.

Representative Schmidt needs to get a little sleep and ask himself what he will do when he is no longer able to call himself a Republican. Many of us have stopped already.  Best intentions don't very well make up for the mistake of seeking liberal ends.  Championing progressive causes, and now taking a page from Mao's playbook (managing farms for the good of all) with top down government managed "smart zones"?  Terrible, Comrade!

OK, maybe not THAT bad. .. Yet.

A Republican, Rick Snyder, is the father of the MEDC.  It was his baby, and lest anyone forget, it was created under the Republican Engler administration.  The MEDC, which has yet to produce a model that definitively demonstrates taking taxpayer funds, then giving those funds to hand picked "winners" produces net economic growth in our state.  The MEDC which essentially could be called a taxpayer funded venture capital scam.

The MEDC's MEGA, The state of Michigan through Tax Breaks, and the DOE,  which gave us that "success story" A123 systems.:

"When A123 Systems announced it was opening its lithium-ion battery manufacturing plant in Livonia in September 2010, then Gov. Jennifer Granholm wrote about it on the Huffington Post calling it "a Recovery Act success story."

But there have been troubles for A123 Systems in the 17 months since then despite a lot of state and federal aid to prop it up.

The state of Michigan gave it a $100 million MEGA tax credit that is contingent on the company creating 300 jobs by the end of 2016. A123 Systems also received another $41 million in tax breaks and subsidies from the state. The Department of Energy awarded A123 Systems a $249.1 million grant.

But the company has not been able to meet its own projections. For instance, on March 28, 2011 in an SEC filing, the company projected total revenue between $210 million to $225 million for 2011. Its latest report shows they had just $118 million of total revenue through the first three quarters of 2011 and reported a net loss of $172 million."

Yeah, that's a winner.

In fact doing so well, taxpayers should be happy to know that the top brass in the company thanks them for providing a generous raise.

Quick drop on the background affairs of government pushing more government, using private firms to make it look like "capitalism", and there it was.

While planning to step in and crush the bankrupting union contracts in Detroit with the EFM, the next generation of great failure is having its rails installed.  A Private firm M1 is proposing to build a transit system, a 3.4-mile line between Hart Plaza and New Center on Woodward Avenue for $125 million in private investment and federal grant money.  At some point in the future, it will turn over (sell) the line to the city, and will subsequently siphon from taxpayers additional funds to remain in operation.

OK, we've seen THAT movie before.

Snyder is painted as being cautious on this however.  An interesting take from Crains Business:

A fear is that if the regional proposal collapses -- as so many similar plans have over the past 40 years -- blame will be laid at the governor's feet, the sources said.

That worry is acute because this is a presidential election year, and Snyder's staff is feeling pressure to expedite the regional authority so that President Barack Obama can announce funding before the election, the sources said.

One of the things I have come to realize as an elected official, is that I can actually affect, or at the very least open discussion on a range of topics that were heretofore untouched.  Even at a county commission venue, we have before us on a regular basis, a number of items that are worthy of note on a statewide level.  

In this case, it is the seat belt legislation and roadside enforcement zones I get to body slam. Or maybe at least tickle.

Tonight, while all of you will be watching and (hopefully) enjoying a debate with conservatives in a thoroughly liberal environment, I and eight others get to decide whether to accept a grant on behalf of the Grand Traverse County Sheriff's dept. The grant is for $12,000 and is

"specifically geared toward safety belt enforcement and impaired driving enforcement."

Two things.

• 1. Jackboots
  
• 2. 4th amendment