Jason

Conservative News, Liberty, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Philosophy

2017 MiCPAC April 28-29

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Annual Freedom Summit & Conservative Gathering for Michigan is next month!

The Michigan Conservative Union is hosting it’s annual Conservative Political Action Conference in Holt this year.

The MiCPAC event theme of “Civility and Ethics in Philosophy and Politics” is the guide for the premier annual conference for all elements of the Michigan Conservative Movement—Life; Faith; Freedom; liberty;Tax Limitation; Traditional Values; 1st, 2nd & 10 Amendment;Academe; Business; National Defense and others.

Speakers at this conference will be Dr. Lee Edwards of the Heritage Foundation, Trevor Louden– New Zeeland Author and patriot, Richard Thompson -Thomas More Law Chief counsel, John Anthony – Sustainable Freedom Author, Dr. Meg Edison -Docs4Patient Care Pediatrician, Prof. William Wagner– of Salt & Light, and Rev. Richard Zeile Michigan School board.

Aside from the nationally recognized conservatives above, will be other notables from around the state; You will hear legislators and local elected officials on how they make a difference. Confirmed are Larry Rocca, Macomb Co. Treasurer; Jason Gillman, Tom Norton, plus Lt. Col. David Agema: E-Verify- American Law for American Courts, Hon. Norman R. Hughes, MCU and MFTW; State of the Movement, Janice Daniels, Jerry Allen, Author Priscilla Miller and others.

This high impact event is being held
April 28-29,2017 Capitol City Baptist School 5100 W Willoughby Rd, Holt, MI 48842

For more information and to register, click here, or on the logo to the right.

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Conservative News, Cronyism, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Opinion, Republicans, Taxes

Lets Throw More Money Away!

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Commission to taxpayers - "Gird your loins."

About that blue ribbon report on education?

Governor RINO-Burger’s newly formed ’21st Century Education Commission’ has performed as expected. One theme seems to stand out.  In the end, all will be well if we follow some not-so-surprising advice from the best socialist minds around. – Free college. Preschool for every child. No more grade levels.

A report released last week from Gov. Rick Snyder’s office offered lofty goals designed to overhaul Michigan’s public education system. The state needs to offer free community college, expand preschool access, and restructure K-12 public schools, the report suggested. District leaders in northwest Michigan agreed, but they’ll need more clarity on the details.

Sure.  why not?

Government employees shilling for expansion of government?  But wait!  More clarity?

“My first question would be if it’s free, who’s paying for it?” asked Sander Scott, superintendent at Glen Lake Community Schools. “That’s what any taxpayer would say. There’ll be a cost to be able to offer these things. … The state is really struggling to fund its public schools so adding more is interesting.”

Yes, “interesting.”
The state is struggling to accurately provide (yes, “accurately.” ‘Adequately’ is a word I would use if it was called for) funding that provides for the best education for our declining youth.  As opined previously, dumping nearly an additional $billion bones into the Detroit school system last year was a seriously flawed legislative act.

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Michigan

March 4 Trump Video

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In case you missed it. We've got you covered!

It’s been a week since the March 4 Trump event across the country.

There are apparently plans to have some other support rallies nationwide, and it would be no surprise if they are well attended.  After the March 4 rally in Traverse City, a number of folks indicated they want to attend the next events, and some wished they had better notice so they could have made it to this one.

For those of you who missed March 4 in Traverse City or somewhere around where you are, here you go.

Enjoy as you can.  We did.

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Detroit

So Why The Change Of Heart?

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Judge Out-Of-The-Blue Change of heart raises eyebrows.

I cannot stand DDAs.

They operate surreptitiously, are usually populated with egotistical good-of-the-community jerks, and have little regard for process or the rights of taxpayers. I know, its just my opinion.  I just don’t think its too much to ask for some better accountability.

One Judge pretty much agreed .. Until he didn’t.   Nothing to see here:

“Exactly why Gillis changed his mind was not clear today. Paperwork filed Monday cancelling last week’s order cited “reasons state on the record” at a hearing on Friday. The hearing was about the DDA’s objection to Davis’ latest complaint. Davis said neither he nor his attorney were notified of the hearing and, therefore, didn’t know Gillis’ reasons. A receptionist for Gillis said the judge was on vacation and unavailable for comment.

Davis wasn’t even invited to a hearing about his complaint?

H/T Sue Schwartz

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Michigan, Michigan Politics

Traverse City March 4 Trump

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Maybe not a 'march,' but a rally on a beautiful day!

About 150 turned out for the Traverse City Trump rally today.

At the time we had decided to hold it, the weather forecast looked bleak.  Instead of the predicted rainy day, it was sunny and in the upper 20s to low 30s by the time we started the noon event. We were blessed with as perfect weather as we could ask for in early March.

Opening with a prayer and song, attendees were rallied to support the president and mix it up with others who share their values.  The coffee and donuts provided by Daylight Donuts took care of the chill and munchie aspect.

One thing missing from our rally which we had actually expected was the lefty protests.  Apparently they decided to hold their event and not try to interfere with ours as we had heard in the grape vine.  Their event turned up 20 folks or so according to latecomers who passed them on the way in.

Local news station 7 & 4 streamed the first fifteen minutes of the event, and then went to spend five minutes at the ‘we hate life’ rally mentioned above.

Pictures below the fold.

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Cronyism, Detroit, Michigan, Opinion

Dan Gilbert Begging For Taxpayer Money Capture – Detroit News Says Please Give.

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Imagine if all industries were subsidized with capture process.

Set the example, right?

Cronyism is still alive and well, and Detroit interests still have their hands out. And maybe it’s not JUST the developers? Detroit’s high taxes, and expensive operating environment has created impediments to natural growth.

Years after Dan Gilbert took money from taxpayers to move his employees into Detroit where they would pay a new income tax, and endure travel challenges, he want to see more of the bottom of the taxpayer purse through capture strategies. And he has cheerleaders.

The Detroit News has opined in favor of taking money from Michigan families and giving it to big developers to subsidize otherwise unprofitable real estate projects. The News wrote:

“In Detroit and other older Michigan cities, rents are still not high enough to fully offset construction costs without incentive packages.”

If the News extended the same logic to its own situation, we might see something like this in a future editorial:

“In Detroit and other old two-newspaper towns, subscription and ad rates are still not high enough to fully offset continuing operations without incentive packages.  If we were to get subsidies captured from the taxes paid from our employees, our success would be guaranteed, and [those] taxes would increase!”

Just think of the page rent decreases it could offset!

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Cronyism, Government Incompetence, Liberty, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Rent Seeking, Republicans

Absolvendi Officium

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"Public-Private Partnerships" Are bad business for government.

SB 97 passed 32-4 last Friday.

Seriously flawed in it’s very concept, the bill grants private operators the ability to operate as-if they are the chartering government itself, sans the payback at the voting booth.  Contracts could extend far beyond term limitations, and the ‘authorities’ created would be of a new design.

It will place those who fail to pay the private concern as immediately liable for fees as-if it were a government entity. It also brings back the spectre of eminent domain, and abuse of authority.

It also grants special rights to those who profit from such projects as described in the bill from paying property, sales or use taxes taxes.

Read it here.

Tell me I am wrong.

Please.

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Conservative News, Michigan, Taxes

So Michigan Republicans Don’t Like Lower Taxes

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Apparently the Michigan GOP house has Republicans who want to keep higher taxes and higher spending.

At least some of them anyhow.

Sometimes you gotta just wonder why, when given the chance, some Republican lawmakers refused to consider the amount collected from the working class as too high. Especially given they operate under the banner which says:

I BELIEVE government must practice fiscal responsibility and allow individuals to keep more of the money they earn.

By golly, that seems simple enough.

This is truly “the money they earn.”  Oh yeah, I suppose the “fiscal responsibility” component of that oft ignored screed might well provide an ‘out’ for any ausgespielt fiscal-moral compass by a GOP type, but its not as-if the state budget is going down, right?

The following HOUSE REPUBLICANS may be using the excuse that they wanted to see cuts in spending first, but given the insignificant amount of taxes being reduced upfront, doesn’t that itself reveal the expectation that they will not?

Afendoulis (R) Calley (R) Crawford (R) Garcia (R) Inman (R)
Lilly (R) Maturen (R) McCready (R) Pagel (R) Roberts (R)
Sheppard (R) VanSingel (R)

Sad.

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Democrats, Detroit, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Republicans, Research & Analysis

Money Well Spent

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Michigan students at the bottom of the educational assessment list.

V.I. Lenin: Our National Dream Realized!
USSR Education Poster, 1950

Michigan schools are demonstrating unbelievable performance levels.

perhaps not in the way one might like, however.  From the Freep:

“A new analysis of results of a national educational test shows Michigan students have continually made the least improvement nationally of scores since 2003.  

..

That analysis comes less than six months after the release of the Michigan’s Talent Crisis report by Education Trust-Midwest that found Michigan’s students are falling far behind their peers across the nation. The ETM report found that Michigan is in the bottom 10 states for key subjects and grades, including early literacy. “

Surprising?

Oh wait, they probably need more money.  Everyone knows that the amount of money spent per child is closely linked to student performance. More from the article:

” Jacob, a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institute, said there is no single explanation of the Michigan rankings.

“I believe that there are a number of factors responsible for Michigan’s weak performance: a lack of adequate state and local funding for schools, the highly decentralized nature of governance that makes it difficult for the state Department of Education to develop coordinated reforms, the lack of regulation and accountability in the charter sector, and the economic and political instability that have plagued Detroit and other urban areas in the state,” he said. “

Whoop, there it is.

With a bonus.  Bigger control from centralized government, ignore the failing ‘regular’ schools, and put the hammer on the charter schools..

Comrade.

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