Rent Seeking

80th District Special Election (2015), Conservative News, Cronyism, Elections, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Proposal 15-1, Rent Seeking, Republicans

Come Out, Come Out, Whoever You Are!

by  •  • 8 Comments

The Election's Over, Your 10 Days Are Up, File Your Damned Campaign Finance Statements

Richard D. McLellan

Richard D. McLellan

A scratch corporation named Michigan’s Voice (LARA 71630M) was registered with Michigan’s Licensing and Regulatory Affairs Department on 26 October by a connected lawyer, Richard D. McLellan. He signed the Articles of Incorporation on 15 October.

Michigan's Voice Flyers

Michigan’s Voice Flyers

Just in time to mail two obnoxious, lying flyers knifing Jim Storey, the second place finisher in the 80th House District special primary held on 03 November. The address used for the Michigan’s Voice LARA filing and printed on the flyers was not Richard McLellan’s, rather it was that of Eric E. Doster’s law firm Doster Law Offices, PLLC.

Close Up, Michigan's Voice Flyer

Close Up, Michigan’s Voice Flyer

 

 

The Michigan Campaign Finance Act, PA 388 of 1976, requires all committees engaged in Michigan politics to file a Statement of Organization within 10 days of being formed. MCL 169.221 Section 21(9) also requires all committees to designate a Treasurer before receiving and disbursing funds. MCL 169.232 Section 32(9) further requires all committees to report late contributions [those received after 18 October in this election] be filed with the SoS within 48 hours of receipt as well. Michigan’s Voice has done none of this.

Committees are defined in MCL 169.203, Section 3(4) as:

“a person who receives contributions or makes expenditures for the purpose of influencing or attempting to influence the action of the voters for or against the nomination or election of a candidate,………., if contributions received total $500.00 or more in a calendar year or expenditures made total $500.00 or more in a calendar year.”

The word ‘person’ in this act is used in the legal sense and most definitely refers to a corporation registered at LARA, fiddling in politics. Michigan’s Voice is assuredly a committee under the MCFA.

Michigan's Voice Articles, Page 1

Michigan’s Voice Articles, Page 1

Twenty-one days have passed since Richard McLellan signed Michigan’s Voice’s Articles of Incorporation and 10 days have passed since those Articles of Incorporation were officially filed by LARA. I received the first Michigan’s Voice flyer on 28 October, so arrangements and payments must have been made days before that. Arena Communications of Salt Lake City, the Michigan’s Voice mailings’ designer and printer, isn’t that quick and the U.S. Postal Service certainly isn’t. So the MCFA 10 day grace period has been sorely abused.

READ MORE ►

You Betcha! (16)Nuh Uh.(1)

Conservative News, Cronyism, Elections, Fees, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Opinion, Part Time Legislature, Philosophy, Proposal 15-1, Rent Seeking, Republicans, Taxes

More weasel words from Gov. Rick Snyder

by  •  • 2 Comments

It’s all about the roads!

Remember: It’s about the roads.

Say it with me again so there’s no forgetting: It’s about the roads.

No, it’s not. And I’ve got it straight from the horse’s mouth on why this actually isn’t.

READ MORE ►

You Betcha! (6)Nuh Uh.(0)

Conservative News, Cronyism, Elections, Fees, Liberty, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Opinion, Part Time Legislature, Philosophy, Proposal 15-1, Rent Seeking, Taxes

Hey, Gov. Snyder? Sen. Meekhof? You do not need to abandon your republican principles any longer.

by  •  • 4 Comments

Rich Studley: "Lawmakers who think the condition of Michigan's roads can be improved with "fairy dust or wishful thinking or Monopoly money," rather than through raising new revenues, should be held accountable for taking that position,

Richard StudleyI couldn’t agree with you more, Richard.

Michigan Motorists need not worry about Michigan Roads. Rich Studley and the Michigan Chamber of Commerce have got this one covered.

READ MORE ►

You Betcha! (4)Nuh Uh.(0)

All the Other Stuff, Conservative News, Cronyism, Democrats, Elections, Fees, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Opinion, Part Time Legislature, Philosophy, Proposal 15-1, Rent Seeking, Republicans, Taxes

Get a load of the latest Michigan republican party spin

by  •  • 3 Comments

Does anyone even proof this before it gets posted?!?

As if they were not already utterly clueless regarding what they allegedly stand for (Hint: I’ve included a small sampling below of what they have obviously forgotten/willfully chosen to ignore (source)):

I BELIEVE free enterprise and encouraging individual initiative have brought this nation opportunity, economic growth and prosperity.

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

You need to see what came in my e-mail this morning on how the “conservative” republicans are trying to cover up the massive stench from their latest batch of stink-burger bills pertaining their road funding “solution” by releasing this nifty little informational graphic so that we can all drink the kool aid all look the other way and pretend that there isn’t a dime’s worth of difference between Michigan republicans and the democrats.

{No, you will not be able to un-see the horror, er, I mean, stop laughing at the patent hypocrisy below the fold}

READ MORE ►

You Betcha! (22)Nuh Uh.(1)

Conservative News, Cronyism, Democrats, Fees, Flint Water Fiasco, Government Incompetence, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Philosophy, Rent Seeking, Republicans, Taxes

The Only Genuine Flint Water Expert: Josiah Willard Gibbs

by  •  • 15 Comments

Albert Einstein Called Him "The Greatest Mind in American History."

Josiah Willard Gibbs 1839 - 1903

Josiah Willard Gibbs
1839 – 1903

The second phase of Governor Snyder’s plan to restore Flint’s damaged water infrastructure was announced today. Michigan’s taxpayers will pay the pirates at Detroit Water & Sewerage $ 6 million to reconnect the Flint water system to DW&SD’s Lake Huron water supply. The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation will ante up $ 4 million more and the City of Flint will will pay $ 2 million extra as well. Governor Snyder said: “The technical experts helping the city on its water advisory all agree this move back to the Great Lakes Water Authority provides the best public health protection for children and families.”   Note that our devious Governor gives you the impression that the funds will be going to the GLWA.  No, they will all be going straight to the pirates at DW&SD unless Flint’s new Karegnondi water pipeline is seriously delayed.

As we pointed out last week, the Flint water distribution system has been seriously damaged by 17 months of amateur chemistry and government incompetence after resourcing their water supply to the Flint River. Incompetent control of water chemistry after April 2014 has dissolved protective pipe linings, allowing lead, iron and steel corrosion which has released lead and iron compounds into Flint’s water on its way to customers. A process called leaching. The finished water coming out of the Flint Water Treatment Plant is seemingly fine, but it certainly isn’t by the time it arrives at their customer’s taps.

Because the damage to Flint’s water infrastructure commenced with this resourcing, a hue and cry went up to reconnect Flint to Detroit water. A logical fallacy. Detroit water did not damage Flint’s water infrastructure when it was used prior to April 2014, at least as far as we know. (Do we really know?) However it cannot – by itself – repair the damage done since. Flint pipes may not have been corroding before April 2014, but they certainly are now. Detroit water is controlled just enough to prevent damage to water infrastructure, but not enough to repair damaged infrastructure.  Flint is going to require a distinctly different water chemistry than Detroit.

The technical experts are touting corrosion control plans to stop the corrosion in Flint’s water distribution piping. By corrosion control, they intend to load up Flint’s water with orthophosphate forming chemicals to prevent further corrosion and attempt to restore the protective scale linings in Flint’s water piping. This is the EPA’s stock recommended practice, derived from their statistical analysis of water systems across the nation. The problem here is those statistical analyses were made of more or less functional water distribution systems. Not a heavily damaged system like Flint’s. Flint’s water problems are an ex novo case. The only recent case of lead pipe leaching even close occurred in Washington, DC, but is enough different in its particulars that Washington’s corrective actions do not provide an assured plan of action for Flint.

READ MORE ►

You Betcha! (25)Nuh Uh.(0)

Cronyism, Michigan, Opinion, Part Time Legislature, Rent Seeking, Taxes

The Nerd’s Potholed Pathway to Indentured Posterity

by  •  • 0 Comments

Because we all know exactly how much Higher Ed matters.

Are you understanding it, yet?

Bonus. We all now know what the jagoff on the right in the photo above collects a taxpayer funded paycheck for.

You Betcha! (17)Nuh Uh.(0)

Cronyism, Democrats, Fees, Flint Water Fiasco, Government Incompetence, Humor in Michigan, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Rent Seeking, Republicans, Taxes

Flint Water Quality – Michigan Taxpayers Are Going To Pay For It

by  •  • 22 Comments

Amateur Chemistry, MDEQ Lies, All Around Government Incompetence, Social Justice Warriors => Everything Goes Wrong

Mad Chemistry Image 1
Usually, when the words ‘Flint’ and ‘lead poisoning’ are used in the same sentence you get a mental image of homicides by gunshot. Likewise, in Michigan, ‘amateur’ and ‘chemistry’ conjures up images of an illegal meth lab fire. Now, however, we have allegations that the City of Flint’s amateur drinking water chemistry is causing high lead levels in children.  This story has exploded over the last week and, as usual, the ignorati in the main stream media and Michigan politics are clueless.

Flint’s emergency financial manager switched the city’s drinking water source to the Flint River in April 2014, an attempt to save the ruined city $ 30 million a year – the vigorish being extracted by the pirates at the Detroit Water & Sewerage Department. The same extortion which motivated the Detroit suburbs to create the Great Lakes Water Authority. Using river water was an intermediate step, with the ultimate goal of Flint joining the new Karegnondi Water Authority and resuming Lake Huron sourcing after the new KWA pipeline is completed in 2016.

Unfortunately, Emergency Financial Manager Ed Kurtz did not realize that river water would require much different preparation than the Lake Huron water they had been supplied by DW&SD. He rose in life as the leader of a business school, not as a chemist. It doesn’t appear that Flint Water Treatment Plant’s staff water chemists had a clue, either. Comments made by Governor Snyder at the presser for his Supreme Court nominee Joan Larsen suggest he was neck deep in this decision and also completely oblivious to the technical issues.

Flint residents protested immediately, complaining of poor taste, foul odors, and turbidity (lack of clarity). Much of this unrest was part of a long term drive to oust the emergency financial manager running Flint, the paramount goal of the city’s social justice warriors. It didn’t help that Ed Kurtz raised water rates about 50%, emulating DW&SD’s obscene fees on top of maximum taxes piracy. Public outrage has increased in Flint ever since. Genesee Circuit Court Judge Archie Hayman enjoined Flint’s water rate hike, throwing Flint’s finances back into disorder. Since Judge Haymen’s order was left in place by the Appeals Court and went into effect, Flint water collections have dropped by $ 1.75 million a month.

In all fairness to EFM Kurtz, part of his rate increase was intended to replenish $ 15.7 million which had been transferred from the Flint water fund in 2007 to pay a sewerage overflow settlement. However this entire situation was almost certainly an attempt to quickly balance Flint’s books and wrap up emergency financial management. Lansing was certainly sweating EFM Kurtz to conclude Flint’s restoration in order to shut down the social justice warriors before our 2014 election.

So what is happening here, technically? Will Detroit water fix Flint’s problems? (Hint: No)

READ MORE ►

You Betcha! (30)Nuh Uh.(3)