Monthly Archives: January 2018

House Speaker Tom Leonard Can Kill Senate Bill 97 If His Funders Let Him

All of us who have been following the saga of Senate Bill 97 (SB97) are beyond disgusted. It’s one of the most egregious legislative power-grabs in recent memory. According to MichiganVotes.org, the measure if passed would give “state and local government agencies the power to enter into joint operating arrangements for building hospital and transportation businesses” and would allow private operators to “benefit from tax exemptions and its governmental partner’s power to impose property taxes, borrow, take private property using eminent domain and more.” This is as anti-free market as it gets.

The bill predictably sailed through the Senate without much debate and discussion. Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof, known for his lack of spine and principle, fast tracked it last year. The Senate committeemembers who approved SB97 were all bought off by the hospital and transportation industries that will make a killing off the legislation, and all but four Senators voted to approve it during the full Senate vote. Sens. Colbeck, Hune, Emmons and Shirkey were the only hold-outs.

The House committee that approved SB97 was similarly bought off by the monied interests that will benefit from the bill. This is how the Lansing swamp operates. Right now, the fate of SB97 is in the hands of House GOP leadership. House Speaker Tom Leonard has the reputation of being a staunch conservative. He is running for Attorney General right now off of his conservative bona fides.

To his credit, Leonard is no Arlan Meekhof. He seems far more fair-minded than his predecessors, but who is funding Leonard and the rest of the House GOP leadership?

You Betcha! (10)Nuh Uh.(1)

Dopey

An open letter to President Trump.

Mr President, don’t let the failures of AG Sessions define your presidency.

As it turns out was a pretty significant mistake to allow him to stay off hands from the ongoing nonsense (Russia, etc) that is being performed by your enemies.  Make no mistake, these people are looking for some chink in the armor, and those around you who may have forgotten even the most minute details, are threatened with process crimes, that have nothing to do with what the investigation is purportedly about.

This could have been averted by a little show of strength by the attorney general, yet remains ongoing, with the wasting of taxpayer resources. Jeff sessions might be loyal, intelligent, and conservative at his core, but he is proving to be foolish.

The above is water under the bridge now.  It was and remains a waste of time, but will amount to nothing in the end.  The AG is about to undertake another mission however, that promises to lose you broad support, and ultimately cost the nation billions in wasted enforcement effort.

The effort of Jeff Sessions to ‘crack down’ on the recent marijuana surge is a misguided move, guaranteed to lose seats in legislatures, congress, and threaten expensive state lawsuits.

You Betcha! (11)Nuh Uh.(1)

Now, how do you suppose HIS name got there???

Politics and corruption are practically synonymous here in Southeastern Michigan.

Recent names (for most readers here, anyways) include such notables like Coleman Young (the first), Kwame Kilpatrick, The (almost) entire Conyers Family, etc.

Excluding VERY rare circumstances, they have been allowed to go pretty much unchecked by state and local officials since there apparently is some “unwritten” rule prohibiting county prosecutors and Attorneys General from investigating fellow politicians, regardless of party affiliation.

No, I don’t get it either.

Fortunately, this hasn’t stopped the Feds though from doing the job that local and state officials have been reticent to do.

I’ve honestly lost track of the number of investigations on Coleman Young (the first). Kwame Kilpatrick will be a guest of the Texas Penal system for at least two-and-a-half decades (obviously pending the outcome of another appeal attempt). Monica Conyers got to relax for several months after spending some quality time in Camp Cupcake. John Conyers got caught literally with his pants down around his ankles.

And then there is this guy???

Now, who is it you may ask?

{Continued below the fold}

You Betcha! (13)Nuh Uh.(1)

Left Coast Incompetence Will Slow Your Computer Tuesday

Another major triumph of Silicon Valley engineering incompetence.

Microsoft is going to slow down most all Intel 64 bit CPU computers on Tuesday, January 9th, in their regular monthly Windows updates.  This after the corrupt finks at Apple got caught slowing down IPhones just before each new model was released.

Microsoft have to compensate for a fundamental design flaw in Intel’s processor chips which has gone unnoticed for 10 years. Expect a 5% – 30% slow down, depending on your tasks and your specific processor.

You Betcha! (7)Nuh Uh.(4)