Monthly Archives: October 2014

Conservative News, Democrats, Detroit, Elections, Firearms, Michigan Politics, Republicans

Steve Boron: “Conservatism Wins,” especially in tough districts

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Protecting gun rights, cutting taxes, reducing spending, and stopping Obamacare. These aren’t issues you’d expect a Republican to run on in a blue district, like Michigan’s 16th House District which consists of the cities of Wayne and Westland. But Steve Boron says it’s the only way Republicans can win over Democrats and Independents.

Steve Boron talks with a voter over the phone. He estimates that his campaign has placed over 15,000 live phone calls to voters in his district.

Steve Boron talks with a voter over the phone. His campaign has placed over 15,000 live phone calls to voters in Michigan’s 16th House District.

“A lot of voters are disengaging from the political process because they feel neither party represents them,” said Boron. “Instead of being ‘Democrat-lite’, Republicans need to take a stand for conservative principles and inspire their base to get out and vote.”

Steve Boron is a 20-year member of the UAW, the owner of a small solar panel business, and a lifelong resident of Westland. On paper, he seems unlikely to be a free-market conservative – let alone a Republican candidate for State Representative. But Boron says his background is his biggest strength.

“I’m a blue collar worker and a union member just like most people in the district. Voters here will trust me before they trust a career politician or a wealthy CEO,” he said. “I understand what issues matter to my community and how to tailor the conservative message to win over their support.”

Campaign Strategy

When asked whether he has any proof his strategy works, Steve Boron responds that he is simply “retooling” Barack Obama’s successful re-election strategy.

“Obama won in 2012 because he moved to the left, fired up his base, and got out the vote,” Boron says. “It made me wonder, ‘why can’t Republicans improve on that model?'”

Boron points out his training at the Foundation for Applied Conservative Leadership and experience as a grassroots activist were also formative in his understanding of political strategy.

“We’re focusing heavily on voter identification and microtargeting. Once we know where a voter stands on a few issues, we know how to communicate to them,” he said. “For example, every supporter of the Second Amendment we identify will be targeted with a message about my ‘A’ rating from the NRA and the endorsement I received from the Michigan Coalition of Responsible Gun Owners.”

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All the Other Stuff, Elections, Opinion, Philosophy

Freewill

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Looking at NOTA a little differently.

election-sheetDecision making can sometimes be extraordinarily trying.

On a personal note, this election cycle has left me as uninterested as I have ever been in who wins the day in far too many races.  Try as I might, looking for the half full glass choice escapes any reasonable satisfactory result.  Even by leaving a selection blank, it seems as if we cannot do enough to record our dissatisfaction with the choices made available to us. In fact, In 1980, the Canadian rock band Rush, reminded us

“If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice”

But even that ‘choice’ eludes us as an effective solution.

Local (Northern Michigan) writer Tom Kachadurian offers some thoughts worth considering.

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Cronyism, Democrats, Detroit, Elections, Michigan Politics

Did Robert Kosowski Lie To Gain A Key Endorsement?

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Did State Rep. Robert Kosowski (D-Westland) lie about his voting record on education in order to gain the Wayne-Westland Observer’s endorsement? Despite misleading claims in the Wayne-Westland Observer, Kosowski voted to cut education funding and ban charter schools.

In his first term as Wayne and Westland’s State Representative, Robert Kosowski voted numerous times to expand the power of Tax Increment Financing Authorities (TIFAs) to take money from local school districts. Rep. Kosowski also co-sponsored House Bill 5852, which would force every single charter school in the state to close once its charter expires.

In addition to cutting the budgets of local school districts and banning charter schools, Kosowski voted for the “Common Core” standards, which increases federal control of local school districts and mandates additional standardized testing of students. Rounding out Kosowski’s voting record on education is his opposition to Education Achievement Authorities, which are the state agencies that help failing public schools.

In their endorsement of Kosowski, LeAnne Rogers of the Wayne-Westland Observer reported that Rep. Kosowski said “he’s not opposed to charter schools.” In a different article for the Observer, Rogers reported that Kosowski supported school funding increases.

It’s possible that Kosowski lied about his voting record in order to gain the Observer’s endorsement – and Rogers, the Observer editor, failed to do her homework. However, some have accused LeAnne Rogers of being biased after she misquoted Kosowski’s Republican opponent as being in favor of the gasoline tax. Dan MacDonald, a top commenter on the Observer’s website, claimed that “she pulled the same thing during the city council race.”

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Democrats, Elections, Michigan Politics, Opinion, Republicans

Michigan’s Voice for Victims?

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One Citizen's concern over Michigan's growing imbalance of power and the eroding of the checks and balances built into our governmental system to protect individuals from injustice. The gentlemen is far from alone in his concerns.....

boot

Neither the Right nor Left, The Republicans nor the Democrats, have a patent on being the protectors of the citizen’s individual Liberties.  When it boils right down to it, a political policy vehicle can, and often does, fail with it’s endorsements. And our elected representatives often fail their constituents when  it comes to the protection of the individual.

We can stay on the merry-go-round of party politics that villainizes the opposition party, (often warranted) or we can start grading our elected on their effectiveness, and willingness to challenge the system and allow unhindered due process afforded every citizen in our U.S. and State Constitutions.  When the system fails, when petitioning is exhausted and disregarded,  The people have the right and duty to make it right at the ballot box.

Please read the following opinion letter sent to me by a very admired friend.

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Cronyism, Elections, Michigan, Opinion, Rent Seeking

So, Weiser was in on the DIA Raises too

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Ho, ho, ho, this certainly is fun. The chair of the DIA just threw RINO Ron under the bus.

“We sincerely regret that we did not anticipate the way in which our promotion and compensation decisions in late 2011 and early 2012 would be perceived in late 2014 in light of the conditions that developed for the city and the region as the DIA millage was approved in late 2012 and as the City of Detroit entered bankruptcy in 2013,” Gargaro said.

This from, Thursday, December 16, 2010:

“We are happy to welcome these prominent community members to our board,” said Eugene A. Gargaro, DIA chairman of the board. “Their dedication to the arts and array of experience and expertise will help us continue to provide great art and educational programs to the community.”

Re-elected members include Jeffrey Antaya, chief marketing officer, Plante & Moran, PLLC; Eleanor Ford, philanthropist; Thomas Sidlik, retired from Chrysler; Ronald Weiser, retired ambassador to Slovakia; and Janis Wetsman, art collector and philanthropist. Marc Schwartz, managing partner in SM/ART Editions, was re-elected to the board after a two-year hiatus.

Lying frickin’ liars.

Shall we talk about those low interest loans, Ron?

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Conservative News, Democrats, Elections, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Opinion, Philosophy, Republicans

Gridlock Is Good?

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Bill Ballenger, Kyle Melinn make the point that might have to be considered in this election.

Video found at VoteForGridlock.com

Its pretty bad when our BEST alternative comes from tying the hands of our lawmakers so that they might accomplish none of their goals. Its bad when either gubernatorial candidate represents a regressive or potentially dangerous path for our state. Its uncomfortable to have to advocate such a position, but Ballenger, and Melinn get it.

Look, its not as if we didn’t warn of the poison infecting the Republican party before. Mark Schauer is BAD NEWS. But Rick Snyder, beyond whatever reasonable reforms already made, has his own plans that we will not, and can not support any more than the Democrat’s own.

If Snyder loses, (which appears to be less probable the more folks see Schauer) it must be seen as a clear repudiation by conservatives, and a loss of the base. Don’t think the flags wouldn’t be raised for broader support of the Schauer (leftist) doctrine. As we have seen already, the Romney loss and subsequent misplaced blame was a severe example of denial by party leadership.

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Michigan, Opinion, Philosophy

They all lie

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***UPDATE BELOW***

What utter crap Lansing, and Snyder’s talking-heads are peddling to these nurses.

Nurses in Michigan and nationwide charged Wednesday they are not adequately prepared to care for Ebola patients, lacking both the training and proper equipment to deal with the deadly disease.

The Michigan Nurses Association called on Gov. Rick Snyder for greater leadership, even as state agencies and the Michigan State Police stepped up efforts to prepare for a possible outbreak.

alphalogicSnyder spokesman Dave Murray said the administration is pushing the group for details about the complaints because its “statements are very general and broad.”

The state Department of Community Health said Wednesday it continues to follow the situation in Texas.

“The governor was 100 percent correct when on Oct. 9 he said all hospitals were equipped to do isolation work per the Centers for Disease Control requirements at that time,” department spokeswoman Jennifer Smith said.

CDC? Oh, that’s rich. The fact is The State (government) is lying to everyone.

So let’s look at that infrastructure.
There are, in fact, a total of four medical isolation units in the entire United States, as we noted yesterday, that are capable of handling infected Ebola patients near endlessly.
Where are they, and what can they handle?
Emory University’s Serious Communicable Disease Unit is in Atlanta, GA. That’s where Brantly and Writebol were treated. It has three beds.
St. Patrick Hospital’s ICU Isolation Unit is in Missoula MT. It has three beds.
The National Institute of Health’s Special Clinical Studies Unit is in Bethesda MD. It has seven beds.
And the biggest, the Nebraska Medical Center’s Biocontainment Unit is in Omaha NE. It has ten beds.

3+3+7+10=23 beds, coast to coast.

MORE

So, where did they just transport Dallas Nurse #1? If you guessed Maryland – Bingo!

More… this Ebola stuff sounds like a whole bag of fun, yes?

H/t Wirecutter

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