Jason

Michigan Politics

Another ACA Casualty

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There seems to be an unending stream of hospital budget shortfalls lately.

The ACA, Medicaid expansion, and the changes in insurance status has messed up the way hospitals are getting paid.  What seemed to be the promise of getting paid more regularly from the indigent, has resulted in fewer dollars for medical facilities from all classes as the ACA kicks in more fully.

This from tonight’s 7 & 4 News:

Lets hope the hard love isn’t coming a little too late.

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Michigan Politics

You Gotta Give The Lady Props

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passportFor getting out into the water already.

Its cold, and even in the river around Belle Isle, a slip into the water might make one want to hit the chicken soup for about a week straight.  Secretary of State Ruth Johnson is a pretty tough player however.  After visiting two local SOS offices, she continued on in a promotional trip to talk about the benefits of the state of Michigan’s ‘recreation passport’ and ‘Express SOS,’ joining Tiffany VanDeHey, to take the opportunity to kayak in the Detroit River around Belle Isle Park. VanDeHey is owner of Riverside Kayak Connection in Wyandotte, a small business offering kayaking tours in and around the area.

Johnson says “The Recreation Passport is only $11 and is available at our branch offices or online at ExpressSOS.com when renewing your tabs.” Johnson uses these excursions to promote the new efficiencies brought about at the SOS.

Next up is a ride on a Harley-Davidson to promote Motorcycle Safety Month in Farmington Hills on May 1. Johnson will likely buck the recent trend to go capless as many do with Michigan’s mandate off the books, and actually wear a helmet.

What a rebel.

Oh, and the title of this piece?  Pun fully intended.

Johnson is an avid kayaker and owns the kayak she used for the trip. The boat is powered by pedals (see what I did there?) or paddles and is also outfitted with a sail. The sail features advertising for ExpressSOS.com and the boat has decals promoting the Pure Michigan license plate, Michigan’s Recreation Passport, organ donation and Johnson’s OPERATION: OUR TROOPS COUNT initiative.

 

 

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Michigan Politics

Sunday RightMi Reader

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Some Michigan blogging folks on state and national issues.

Watchdog Wire – Emmet County Watchdog Calls Out Commissioners Over Bond Vote Some shady backroom dealing going on, and a $15 million dollar taxpayer headache.

The Voice Of One Crying Out In Suburbia –  A Tale Of Two Baskets A decidely different take on the tithe.

The Western Right – Terrence Moore on Common Core A couple of video presentations of Terrence Moore of Hillsdsale College

The Other Club – An Analysis of Reasons for the Disparity in Wages Between Men and Women Given the claim of wars on women and such ..

Motor City Times – Left claims Hillary’s age is no big deal, forgets brutally attacking President Reagan for being the same age He DOES have a point.

Jen Kuznicki – Guys With Guns Dictate Policy Noting that the left likes guns as long as they are pointed in our direction.

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All the Other Stuff, Philosophy

Happy Easter

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He Is Risen!

empty-tombThe Resurrection.

John 20 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. 8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) 10 Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.

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All the Other Stuff, Conservative News, Cronyism, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Opinion, Republicans

Ethics, Integrity, And Long Knives

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wayne-afp009“He’s our hometown boy.” Said one of the executive committee members of a vote taken this last Thursday.

The vote, was one by the executive board of the Grand Traverse County Republican Party on whether to endorse State Senate Candidate Wayne Schmidt over Greg MacMaster in the 37th State Senate primary contest.  The vote to choose one candidate over another in partisan (GOP) races would normally be considered off the table except under extraordinary circumstances.  At least that is how it is designated in the by-laws of a number of other GOP county parties.

Questions must be asked.  Is it prudent or even a legitimate practice? Is it fair to the candidates?  Is it fair to the membership, and does it misrepresent the opinion of the party at-large?

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All the Other Stuff, Philosophy

We Agree

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One of the stupid things we do when applying the law, is to attempt to read minds.

Motivation is certainly a part of the considerations when determining guilt in circumstantial considerations, but applying a specific penalty to those motives?  Nolan Finley gets it right this time:

“It just doesn’t matter. No one should ever be charged with a hate crime.

For one thing, layering on the hate crime charge creates unequal classes of victims.

If you get murdered by a junkie who wants your wallet, or a jealous husband, or a maniac on a killing spree, you’re just as dead as someone who gets offed by a racist.”

And frankly if the punishment ought to be increased under the suspicion that the perpetrator(s) were doing a ‘hate crime’, then it ought to apply always.

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All the Other Stuff, Michigan

No Need for Public Concern

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Because Indiana is the epicenter for earthquakes

Christchurch, New Zealand - March 20 2011: Fitzgerald Avenue Bridge Destruction.Right?

Saturday, a taxpayer funded exercise in preparedness was going on.  From the always-up-to-something folks in state government:

LANSING. In an effort to practice and test its emergency mobilization capabilities, the Michigan State Police (MSP) is participating in a simulated exercise tomorrow; Saturday, April 5, 2014.

 

The simulated preparedness exercise will test the department’s response to an Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) request for police officers to assist the State of Indiana with recovery operations in the aftermath of a simulated earthquake. The scenario will require the mobilization of 60 MSP personnel from across the state to the Lansing area. ..

…

 

Please note: This is not a media event but rather an advisory to the media to help prevent any public concern during the activities of this simulated exercise.

Nothing to see here.

Move along now folks.

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Michigan Politics

No, It’s NOT Under The Bridge

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Clearly, there are interests who will misrepresent data to freak out lawmakers into knee-jerk reactionary positions..

So when we find out the flawed data provided by Jackson Hewitt that was probably the basis for a couple of fence sitters to get lazy and stupid, we don’t have to pretend it doesn’t matter.  Some great big We-Told-You-So’s are due. Perhaps next time low information legislators will look a little deeper into what it is they are exposing the state to.  Mackinac Center Legislative Analyst Jack McHugh says:

“It maMCC_Masthead_2xy be water over the dam, but one report on the potential impact to employers if Michigan did not adopt the Obamacare Medicaid expansion has been exposed as being essentially bunk due to flagrant misuse or misrepresentation of the data it cited.

This is worth noting because the claims from Jackson Hewitt were widely cited by Republican lawmakers here who supported the expansion, and probably tilted others into that camp. Its conclusion was that “employers may pay substantially higher federal tax penalties under the ACA (Affordable Care Act) in states that do not expand Medicaid.” Jackson Hewitt estimated Michigan employers would pay between $42 million and $63 million in penalties without the expansion.

But a further study revealed that to be untrue.

The study notes incomplete demographics and assumptions of static employer behavior in the examples legislators used in justifying their yes votes. No, this is not water under the bridge, but rather a “teachable moment” that will be willfully ignored by those who took the blue pill with regard to Obamacare.

Read the rest.

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Michigan Politics

The Same Mental Condition That Brings You Obamacare

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Nothing new, but always disappointing.

The left has no tolerance for the suffering, unless THEY too are a part of the intolerant left.  Battling cancer ends the right to free speech apparently.  Julie Boonstra’s effort to let folks know how badly Obamacare has affected HER has simply made her a target for those who present themselves as champions of compassion.

letter

How ‘progressive.’  H/T AFP on Twitter

 

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