Detroit

Detroit, Michigan, Michigan Politics

Federal Judge Nullifies First Amendment

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Well, here it is. In the Case of Deboer v. Snyder, this is what Federal Judge Bernard Friedman has to say on the issue:

JUDGMENT

The Court in this matter has issued its Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law. In accordance therewith,

IT IS ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that judgment be and is hereby granted for plaintiffs and against defendants.

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that defendants are hereby permanently enjoined from enforcing the Michigan Marriage Amendment and its implementing statutes, as they conflict with the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

.

Look this decision didn’t really surprise me.

No, it wasn’t because of the other decisions around the country.

Personally, I didn’t feel that they were relevnt to what was being decided here in Michigan.

What did catch my attention though, was this little blurb I found when reading up on the background of this case.

“Judge Bernard Friedman encouraged two Detroit-area lesbians who are raising three children to file a legal challenge to Michigan ban on gay marriage.”

Hmmmm.

Why would a judge, someone who is supposed to be impartial, be advising someone appearing before him to expand the scope of the case they are bringing?

Personal agenda, perhaps?

Stay tuned.
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Cronyism, Democrats, Detroit, Rent Seeking, Republicans

Snyder’s Detroit Bailout “Officially” Hemorrhages Our Money

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Oh, joy… today makes it “official”.

via Crain’s Detroit

Belle Isle in Detroit is set to officially become Michigan’s newest state park.

The state is taking over the city-owned park under a 30–year lease deal with Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr.

On Oct. 1, Orr and Gov. Rick Snyder signed a proposed lease of the island to turn it into a state park; Detroit City Council counter-offered with a 10-year lease proposal, which was ultimately rejected by a state panel.

Included in the announcement of the proposed lease was the promise that the state would invest $10 million to $20 million in the park within the next three years.

The move goes into effect today; it’s expected to save the bankrupt city [cost all state taxpayers] between $4 million and $6 million a year.

REST

At least Billionaire Roger Penske is happy that another of his toy racetracks is receiving the full backing of our wallets.

Bud Denker of Bloomfield Hills is senior vice president of Penske Corporation and executive vice president of Penske Automotive Group and Penske Performance. Denker joined the Penske enterprise after many years with several Fortune 100 companies including Eastman Kodak Company where he served as vice president of brand and marketing development. Since 2006, he has served as chairman of the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix and is also active in many Detroit-based organizations including the Downtown Detroit Partnership and The Parade Company.

Pure Cronyism.

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Conservative News, Cronyism, Democrats, Detroit, Rent Seeking, Republicans

Sundays Sanity: Tax-Exempt Entity and Their Billionaires

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For those unaware, the NFL is tax-exempt and also plundering our wallets for a $Billion a year.

Have you ever heard of the old expression, “like placing a diamond on a goats ass” ? Billionaire moochers and looters with their bought off politicians enabling taxpayer funded Flavian Amphitheaters are a good definition of it.

When the Lions and Tigers stadium deal was struck, one newspaper headline headline joyfully proclaimed a “Detroit comeback.” William Clay Ford, Jr., the Lions’ vice chairman, said that being “an integral part of Detroit’s renaissance is an absolute honor of the highest degree.”

And, a short 14 years later, Detroit files for Chapter 9 protection. Brilliant propaganda espoused by, Mr. Bill One playoff win in 56 years Ford Jr., yes?

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Detroit, Philosophy

Detroit opinion leader makes erroneous comparison between business and government

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Daniel Howes, Detroit News columnist recently published a rambling column discussing the parallels of the Detroit Automakers comeback (as illustrated by their Super Bowl ads) and the city of Detroit and its potential comeback. The column was fairly innocuous stuff until these two paragraphs:

Yes, I know the convenient dodge from those who would prefer to avoid the obvious parallels between running an automaker into the ground and running a municipal government into the ground: government is not a business.

Wrong. Both succeed and fail on the strength (or weakness) of managing reality, dollars and cents, not some mythical ideal that exists only in gauzy memory or an eighth-grade civics class. Neither business nor government can allow expenses to consistently outstrip revenue for too long, cannot charge customers or taxpayers more and deliver less, without inviting serious existential consequences.

So many things wrong with the above paragraphs.

Starting with the most fundamental flaw: business adds value by producing something (a product or service) and creates wealth, government can only take wealth (through the force of law) from one group of people and give it to another, adding no value and creating no wealth.

READ MORE ►

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Cronyism, Detroit, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Rent Seeking

Bankrupt – The Movie

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Detroit.

Cronyism, corruption, bailouts, favored status, confiscation through eminent domain, picking winners and losers.  Sound familiar?

This documentary premiered yesterday in Washington DC, and offers some historic perspective to the decline of Detroit.

Perhaps even, an explanation (a warning) of what is to come next, as long as we allow our governments to engage in corporatism; a way in which our taxpayers dollars are funneled into the pockets of special interests  and how corruption has abused Detroit, providing little benefit to those paying the bills. At one point Thomas LaDuke makes a great point about not questioning “people’s heart or motives,” but his frustration of how city residents don’t actually see how the city has been run.

Enjoy

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Cronyism, Detroit, Michigan, Republicans

Now why might this be?

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Something interesting to note with battleground state data that has been released a short while ago.

Gallup: January 2-December 29, 2014

Obama Approval ratings in Senate Battleground States (this is the YEARLY average, the President’s current numbers are actually lower in EACH of these states).

  • Alaska: 33.5%
  • Arkansas: 34.9%
  • Colorado: %42.3
  • Georgia: 45.4%
  • Iowa: 42.5%
  • Kentucky: 35.1%
  • Louisiana: 40%
  • Michigan: 47.7%
  • Montana: 33.1%
  • New Hampshire: 44.6%
  • North Carolina: 43%
  • Oregon: 45.4%
  • South Dakota: 31.7%
  • Virginia: 46.4%
  • West Virginia: 25.1%

The current numbers may be lower, but I see one particular thing that makes sense.

You have to love Michigan’s push for medicaid expansion, and ceding to the Obamacare plan along side other progressive Obama ‘likes’ such as common core, A21, and transportation schemes. The highest appreciation for Obama, coming from the state that is controlled by Republicans.

Because Republicans manage those failed progressive schemes so much better than the Democrats.

#AmIRight?

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