Tag: Power

There was a reason he won the position in the first place; as someone who would hold TRUE to conservative Republican principles, and strengthen them in the national platform.  While the establishment Republicans are decrying Democrats as "bad," Committeeman Agema was rebuilding the foundation so Republicans could say why.  Real fiscal restraint, real solutions aimed at preserving families and traditions that have made this country great.

And the feeble sensibilities of an offended malcontent within the party continuously stirs up sympathy for the other side's (progressive Dems for those of you who remain unsure) point of view?

"Hey look at me! I am a Republican and I don't like your stand on what I like to do, so you better tolerate my perverse lifestyle or I will forever more divide the party until I get what I want!  You can call it a big tent if you want."

When moral restraint is removed in one way, it certainly follows that the caps are off in others too.

Once upon a time, the insurer of last resort (yeah Michiganians have had a cant-deny-preexisting insurer for several decades already)was owned by you and I. (since 1939)  As recently as a few years ago, it even carried a balance sheet of about $6,000,000,000.00 including over $3,000,000,000.00 cash reserves. The BCBS board tried to use those reserves in for-profit ventures, (a great way to pass off cash to private partners)  and were stopped by then attorney general Mike Cox. In 2008, Cox kept BCBS of MI in check.

But things are different now. This time no one stepped in to stop the transference of a GREAT BIG PILE OF MONEY away from Michigan citizens. And the great big Obamacare boondoggle helped them do it. Now that they aren't owned by you and I, its time to make some real cash!

"Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan shows a projected savings of tens of millions of dollars next year by terminating 25 individual health plans that were noncompliant with the Affordable Care Act.

Over the past decade, Blue Cross has lost hundreds of millions of dollars in the individual market as Michigan's designated insurer of last resort, a moniker it no longer has under health care reform with all insurers now required to cover people with pre-existing conditions and its conversion earlier this year into a mutual health insurer. "

How clever.

Enjoy the song.

OK, in the last couple of days, I have railed on about transparency, and frankly have had to go on offense, in defense of Ruth Johnson's courageous suggestion. I will admit to being a little reactionary because of the dunderhead commentary of McNeilly and his faux front, "Freedom Fund,"(click on the link, its a tension breaker) but still hold to the standards described.  

That flatly, we should aspire to true openness.

The language added to exceptions of regulated monies under SB661 (Amending the Michigan campaign finance act) is clearly a push back on Johnson's intention to open those shuttered windows into shadowy financing and advocacy. The added exemption reads:

"(j) An expenditure for a communication if the communication does not in express terms advocate the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate so as to restrict the application ofthis act to communications containing express words of advocacy of election or defeat, such as "vote for", "elect", "support", "cast your ballot for", "Smith for governor", "vote against", "defeat", or "reject".

It limits her statutorily.

Many on the conservative side are actually a little more concerned however about THIS little gem. Lines struck out from the MCFA read:

"(a) A house political party caucus committee or a senate political party caucus committee shall not pay a debt incurred by a candidate if that debt was incurred while the candidate was seekingnomination at a primary election and the candidate was opposed at that primary.
  (b) A house political party caucus committee or a senate political party caucus committee shall not make a contribution to or make an expenditure on behalf of a candidate if that candidate is seeking nomination at a primary election and the candidate is opposed at that primary."

While the Republican controlled congress fiddles with bills and resolutions that will never make it to the President's desk, the damage is already being done. The EPA has made it unprofitable for a power company to do business in the UP.  As the Candidate Obama put it so bluntly in 2008:

"If someone wants to build a new coal-fired power plant they can, but it will bankrupt them because they will be charged a huge sum for all the greenhouse gas that's being emitted."

The Presque Isle Power plant in Marquette faces a shutdown as a major buyer seeks electricity off the grid from elsewhere. From Energy Biz:

"Cliffs Natural Resources Inc., which operates two iron ore mines in Michigan, has notified We Energies that it will begin buying electricity from Integrys Energy Services, a retail electricity provider that sells electricity in states that have opened up their power markets to competition, Cliffs spokesman Dale Hemmila said.

Cliffs spent $120 million with We Energies last year, according to a filing with the Michigan Public Service Commission."

While the competitive forces are straight up and legitimate, A shutdown of this plant due to a federal regulatory nightmare will have an unpredictable effect on the stability of electricity in the Upper peninsula.  Costs for residents will likely skyrocket, and service will become sub-par.

The antics by rules committee folks to hold power in the hands of a certain few are designed to keep a succession scheme working.  In Michigan, it was the DELEGATE scandal.  In Tampa it was what we see in the following video.

There is an imperative to remove Obama.  Voting for Mittens and Ryan will be the only way this happens for now.  Mitt might well be a great president, and Ryan hold even greater promise to many.  However, the power struggle within the party makes a great case for those who would think about crossing over and casting their not-Obama vote.  It was stated clearly in a single tweet:

"If this is how Republicans treat their own, what might we expect for independents and Democrats"

That video taped teleprompter was a Breitbart moment.  It was the truth for all to see. And it shows an utter disregard for the grassroots and their efforts to bring this country back into some semblance of what it once was. The thought that Republican leadership would do the right thing now a faded idealistic notion.  

via FoxNews.com

Wind farms in the Pacific Northwest -- built with government subsidies and maintained with tax credits for every megawatt produced -- are now getting paid to shut down as the federal agency charged with managing the region's electricity grid says there's an oversupply of renewable power at certain times of the year.

The problem arose during the late spring and early summer last year. Rapid snow melt filled the Columbia River Basin. The water rushed through the 31 dams run by the Portland, Ore.-based Bonneville Power Administration allowing for peak hydropower generation. At the very same time, the wind howled leading to maximum wind power production.

Demand could not keep up with supply, so BPA shut down the wind farms for nearly 200 hours over 38 days.

Read more (with video)

And even that isn't a guarantee they will ever see it.

In fact civilization is moving along rapidly enough that the populations of the UP are being drawn out except in the most concentrated population centers.  And in THOSE places, federal grants for housing, and assistance measures are being increased.  It draws those living in the rural outlying zones in to the town centers.  For some of the poor folk who face increasing government punishment for modifying land to suit their needs, additional fuel costs, and the pledge of subsidized urban housing it makes sense to take a path of least resistance.

Then add to this a increase in the cost of electricity that is as guaranteed as craftsman tools, and the landscape becomes fundamentally different.

The cost of electricity BTW because of such measures that would bankrupt those who would build coal fired plants, which was the promise of then Senator Obama, speaking to an interviewer on clean energy options.  THAT promise is now being kept, as the out of control EPA brings the hammer down on Upper Michigan's coal based energy producers.

"Looming environmental rules may lead We Energies to shut down the only major power plant serving Michigan's Upper Peninsula in the next five or six years."

Though Kalkaska county prosecutor Brian Donnelly's efforts at recalling at least three county commissioners may not be over, it appears he has (his allies attempting the recall) failed initially to clarify the language to the satisfaction of the elections board.  In a turnaround however, the prosecutor himself appears to be the only one out of the process who may have to defend his job.

From a press release:

Kalkaska, Michigan
October 11th, 2011

Today the Kalkaska County Election Commission denied approval for clarity for recall petitions against three District Commissioners. Additionally, wording was approved for the petition to recall County Prosecuting Attorney Brian Donnelly. The Election Commission found the petitions for the recall of the Commissioners too lengthy, non-specific in facts, dates and locations; among other issues. The votes on all petitions were unanimous.

With the approval of the recall wording for Donnelly, the petitioners now have until the November 15th deadline to submit the required number of valid signatures, approximately 1600, to place the recall on the February ballot. According to Michigan law MCL-168, petitions will be made available after 10 days if no appeal is filed, leaving signature collectors only 25 days to gather the required number. It is not known if the petitions against the District Commissioners will be amended and refiled.