Michigan Politics

Michigan Political considerations.

Michigan Politics

Michigan Open Carry Files Suit Against Clio Area Schools

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So a bit later than anticipated, but…

As set forth in the precedent setting opinion of Capital Area District Library v. Michigan Open Carry, Inc, school Districts are barred from making rules forbidding the lawful carry of a pistol. Yet, many districts throughout the state continue to do so with illegal policies and bullying. Michigan Open Carry, Inc (MOC) has partnered with Kenneth Herman to file suit against Clio Area Schools (CAS). Mr. Herman is a dues paying member of MOC.

Starting in 2013, Mr. Herman has, and continues to be, aggrieved by CAS. His constitutionally guaranteed right to self defense has been chilled as a result of threats of arrest and criminal prosecution should he not comply with CAS’s unlawful policy related to firearms. As a result of these unlawful actions on the part of CAS, he has been unable to defend himself while attending to business or other functions at his daughter’s school.

It is our hope that this case may ultimately be appealed to the Michigan Court of Appeals so the matter may set precedent that will guide the policies and actions of other school districts and law enforcement throughout the state.

This lawsuit comes on the heels of Michigan Open Carry, Inc working successfully with several other, more cooperative school districts to modify their firearm policies to bring them into compliance with State Law.

According to Mr. Herman, his daughter’s teachers have taken it upon themselves to mention his self defense choices in class to all the other students, possibly to incite ridicule amongst her peers.

Originally posted here.

Complaint can be read here.

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Cronyism, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Rent Seeking

It Would Be About Time

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moore-moneyTaxpayer provided incentives for one industry or another have always been morally wrong and with questionable results.

Maybe this time we can end ONE particular part of an ongoing ‘eating out of our substance’ for the purposes of one industry’s benefit.  HB4122 will do this, and we support its passage.  The Ivory Tower reports on the effort to push through this bill with some commentary on both sides of the debate.  Supporting removal of the subsidies is one former lawmaker:

“The film subsidies send much of the $50 million allocated to them, out of state — to Hollywood millionaires and billionaires,” said former state Rep. Tom McMillin, a leading opponent of the incentives. “A lot more jobs will be created by keeping that money in Michigan and employing Michigan workers to fix roads or keep the money in the pockets of business owners across the state, so they can hire more employees.”

Indeed, one of the missed points when giving taxpayer money away is what the benefit might have been if it had been left in the hands of those who produced it.

This is a start.  Rumors of a bill to end the MEDC have been floating around, and would be well received by overtaxed Michiganians, but so far no such effort from ANY lawmaker has borne any fruit.

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Michigan Politics

QUANTUM OF SOLACE. TIME TO DO YOUR JOB AND STOP BUILDING POLITICAL CAPITAL FOR THE FUTURE.

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“If you board the wrong train, it is no use running along the corridor in the other direction.”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer

This is the second time that Cindy Gamrat (at the behest of Todd Courser?) has considered throwing her hat in the ring for RNC Committeewoman. This is also the second time she has made an attempt to Undermine the TP/Liberty movement this month. An apparent pattern is beginning to emerge, one that many, myself included, were blinded to by Friendship and possibly misplaced loyalty.

Many of us Know that Cindy Gamrat asked Both Cindy Duran and Angela Rigas, to effectively cancel their house races, and Commit their Campaign resources and volunteers to her fight. (Were there others asked to do so?) Angela Rigas and Cindy Duran were both taking on sitting incumbents. With the recent revelations of the endorsement of Ronna last week, and the propping up of Calley at the Pow Wow, one could easily speculate on the motives of such a request, the origination of the requests, and who would benefit the most if either had dropped out? Many realize that while Pscholka and Lyons both still won, neither is in a position of leadership in the house today, and much of the credit for that goes to the diminishing of their power due to being challenged. A secondary thought is the arrogance involved in the concept that a candidate has the “Right” to commit the time, energy, and resources of volunteers, to others.

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

Pavlov’s Politicians

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Reflex Conditioning Drives Uncontrolled Government Spending

Pavlovs PoliticianThe brilliant, Nobel Prize winning physiologist Ivan Petrovitch Pavlov demonstrated that you could condition a dog to salivate by sounding a metronome. All he had to do was sound the metronome when putting out food for his dogs. It did not take long for his dogs to associate the sound of the metronome with food.  Then he no longer even had to put food out to get the dogs to salivate; he only had to sound the metronome.

Today, inferior rank politicians have been conditioned to salivate when a financial grant is offered by superior rank politicians. The only problem with these grants of largess is that they always come with caveats, and usually require matching funds. These restrictions are a deliberate – and successful – effort to frustrate all efforts to manage government expenditures.

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Cronyism, Elections, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Proposal 15-1

It Only Gets Worse

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Taxes that increase every year to keep up with inflation.

STOP-167Say What?

We have used the 16.7% tax increase in the stop sign logo, (at the right) and will continue to do so.  However, it is hardly a complete look at the tax implications if proposal 15-1 were to pass. We are attempting to find all the ways in which our prior legislative session gave us the shaft, including train to nowhere projects, redistribution of wealth, and the fuel tax replacement components.

Folks might actually be aware of the replacement fuel tax and that it will be more than what the was tax was before. Presumably, it simply replaces the sales tax that has been collected on fuel, that does not go toward roads.  However, when one looks at the analysis done by the House Fiscal Agency, there is a paragraph that explains the mechanism accurately; and in particular, a line at the end of that paragraph points out an easily missed point.

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Conservative News, Cronyism, Elections, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Philosophy, Proposal 15-1, Rent Seeking, Taxes

Michigan Political Math: $ 1.2 Billion = $ 1.08 Billion

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Mass Transit Skims $ 120 Million from Proposal 2015-01 Road Work Funds

Train Wreck ImageEver hear of the Michigan Comprehensive Transportation Fund? Ten cents of every Michigan fuel tax dollar gets diverted to this mass transportation slush fund.  It is only just behind the sales tax as a diversion of your current fuel tax dollars from Michigan’s roads.

All motor vehicle fuel taxes collected in the State of Michigan are first deposited into the Michigan Transportation Fund. Then MCL 247.660 (1)(f) (Public Act 51 of 1951) dictates that 10% of the funds deposited in the Michigan Transportation Fund be immediately transferred to the Comprehensive Transportation Fund. The amended version of MCL 247.660 you are being offered in Proposal 2015-01 has the very same section (1)(f), making the same 10% immediate diversion.

So the $ 1.2 billion that Proposal 2015-01 supporters are promising you for road work is actually only $ 1.08 billion.  Kirk T. Steudle, P.E. gets a whole new stash to maintain and expand his stable of rotting train cars, $ 120 million that cannot be spent on the roads by law.  $ 120 million that gets skimmed from the $ 1.2 billion you are being promised for the roads.  And no, it is not skimmed from the $ 800 million that Proposal 2015-01 dedicates to the Democratic base.

Now you now know how Michigan political math works in the age of Common Core.  Pay $ 2 billion for roads, get $ 1 billion in road work.

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Conservative News, Democrats, Elections, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Opinion, Proposal 15-1, Taxes

And this year’s award for most original tax hike goes to…

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And our nominees are:

– Gov. Rick Snyder’s 16.7% sales tax hike raising $1.945-billion in order to spend $1.2-billion on roads.

– Sen. Rick Jones/Rep. Tom Barret’s school tax (extrapolating the same supporting arguments from the above can be easily made here).

– Rep Joel Johnson’s horse-drawn vehicle tax (no, I’m serious…this guy really wants a tax horse drawn carriages).

– Rep. Robert Kosowski “sinking fund” school bus tax.

Oh, and there’s one more.

{After the fold, of course}

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Conservative News, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Opinion, Philosophy, Taxes

We’re 31st!

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FFI 2015 Overall Rankings Screen-Shot

The twenty-five year old John Locke Foundation has just released its First in Freedom Index for 2015. The Freedom Index ranks states for the level of freedom allowed their citizens in four weighted areas of policy:

Fiscal: 50%
Education: 20%
Regulation: 20%
Health Care: 10%

Michigan ranks 31st overall among the states in the Freedom Index. Dismal per capita levels of state taxes, spending, and regulation weighed down Michigan’s rankings. Michigan’s ranking in the individual policy categories are:

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