Bad Optics = Serious Political Jeopardy

Snyder ImageOur zillionaire Governor is hitting up the Michigan Treasury for $ 1.5 million to cover the cost of really excellent lawyers who are mounting his criminal defense in the Flint water fiasco. Yesterday, he suggested that the two MDEQ employees criminally charged in the Flint water fiasco will no longer receive State paid legal representation. The State had been paying for outside counsel for Stephen Busch and Michael Prysby since AG Schuette stripped them of direct state assistant AG legal counsel in February.

Apparently, the distinction here is actually being criminally charged. Snyder hasn’t been, but Busch and Prysby just got charged.. AG Schuette could not resist piling on with the same common law misconduct in office felony charge used against Courser and Gamrat, but the actual substance of the statutory charges here are lying and tampering with evidence.

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Or Be Square

KrisanneHall_flyer5olKrisAnne Hall back in Michigan.

I have heard her speak a number of times, and each time walk away with a greater understanding of our constitution.  I also have developed a better sense for what needs to be done to hold our out of control government in check, and return us to the nation of states (versus a nation with states) as our founders intended.

Always a worthwhile event.

 

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Pressure.

When folks around the state know what is going on, they are better prepared to act.

Gary Glenn knows that pressure from those back home can bring about action when bills are slowed down in the committee process.  Recently, he sends this out in an email blast:

glenn“Dear Friends,

The purpose for this email is to bring to your attention House Bill 4847, which would restore Michigan citizens’ constitutionally-guaranteed right to a jury trial, including on lawsuits filed against the state.

Specifically, HB 4847 would allow any citizen of Michigan to sue the state on any matter and demand a trial by jury in their district of residence.

As provided by our state constitution, Michigan residents already have a right to have any lawsuit brought by them to be heard by a jury of their peers. However, that right has not been upheld by the current system in which lawsuits against the state are currently heard by the Court of Claims, which provides no trial by jury.

HB 4847 would right this wrong and put in statute what is already in our state constitution.

I urge you to take action today by contacting the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, as well as all members on the committee, to ask them to allow HB 4847 to be taken up for a hearing and subsequent vote. This could be accomplished via a phone call as well as an email. The contact information for committee members are as follows:

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April 15th, A Day That Lives In Infamy

RMS Titanic Image 2The RMS Titanic broke in half and sank at 02:20 AM zulu on this day in 1912. Should never have happened, but metallurgists of the day didn’t understand the adverse effect of phosphorous upon the ductile to brittle transition temperature of steel.  Today the Titanic rests at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean at Latitude 41° 43′ 57″ North, Longitude 49° 56′ 49″ West, over 12,000 feet underwater.  1,514 men, women and children perished, only 710 survived.  May they all rest in peace.  The last Titanic survivor died in 2009.  Not the worst maritime disaster in history, but the one seared into the conscience of the English speaking world.

Most of us, however, associate April 15th with the annual deadline for filing your U.S. and Michigan personal income taxes. Just how much money is extracted in personal income taxes on this fateful day?

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21st Century Education Commission

Dog and Poney Show Image 4Governor Snyder announced his 21st Century Education Commission in Executive Order 2016-6 last week. According to his press release:

“The commission will be responsible for analyzing top performing education systems in the nation, identifying issues impacting Michigan’s academic success, and recommending changes to restructure Michigan’s education system.”

You will be forgiven for harboring suspicions that this is another vehicle to promote Common Core. It is. Same type of political сове́т that did such a fine job promoting Proposal 2015-01.  Remember TAMC?  This playbook is getting old.

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2nd Amendment March Wednesday April 11

From http://www.2amarch.com/

Join us for the 2016 March!

What: A peaceful gathering to demonstrate the political strength of Michigan’s legal gun owners and Second Amendment advocates.

When: Wednesday, April 13 2016 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Where: Lansing State Capitol lawn

The Details: Michigan’s Second Amendment March will be held on Wednesday, April 13th at Michigan’s Capitol. The event will begin at 10:00 a.m. on the Capitol lawn. The MARCH will take place at noon and will be around the Capitol Mall. Assemble near the Capitol steps if you would like to participate in the march. Legislature is in session that day. We’ll be showing them the political strength of Michigan’s legal gun owners. The march is being organized by the Second Amendment March and jointly promoted and funded by Michigan Gun Owners and Michigan Open Carry, Inc. Please visit our Facebook event page for the most updated information.

Or hit the site as well.

Already at well over 310 confirmed on FB alone (typical FB response suggests 1000+ marchers) for this Wednesday.

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A Challenge

An email I received recently mentioned the writer’s inability to reach our current representative.

The fact he would get no response, never heard anything that the incumbent of the 104th was doing, and didn’t know what that incumbent was doing was troubling.  “He just disappeared” was the statement and theme.

And absence from representation is spot on correct.

During a kick off last Tuesday I recorded some video that I will torture the regular readers of this blog with over time.   But I also had some good spots; One in particular in which I issued a challenge that might be useful to any district’s voters.

Posted on Facebook, the challenge was posted with this:

“Everyone reading this has the ability to find that legislation sponsored by our current incumbent, which enhances our liberty, creates new efficiency in government, or fixes our infrastructure. HB5152 is close, but even having 14 co-sponsors cannot make it out of committee. Anything else???

Challenge your legislators too perhaps?

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RICO !!!

Blind Justice Image 3Just a few short weeks ago, it appeared that the Presidential race and State House elections would dominate political news in Michigan for the rest of the year. Now it appears that courtrooms in Detroit and Lansing will provide compelling political drama as well. Drama which is going to cost Michigan taxpayers a bunch of money.

There have been a number of lawsuits filed over the Flint water fiasco (over 71!), but yesterday a consortium of law firms filed a Federal class action lawsuit on behalf of Flint residents using the 1970 Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. This represents a whole new level of legal pain. Civil RICO provides for treble damages when a pattern of racketeering is proven to have occurred over time. It also guarantees the plaintiffs’ lawyers fees, a small fact which assures that civil RICO lawsuits will be pursued with enthusiasm to the bitter end. Conviction applies the stigma of typical previous RICO defendants, such as mobsters and drug kingpins, to a losing defendant. Michigan, at large, is a defendant in this suit. Capisce?

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