Michigan

Elections, Michigan, Michigan Politics

ICYMI Tlaib Ethics Issues

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Did Rashida Tlaib convert campaign funds for personal use?

Did you know you can be paid to be a candidate?

Rashida (MOFO) Tlaib, former Michigan Sate Representative from the 13th district and now congress critter sensua de-luxe was on the payroll of her own campaign.  As if she was a staffer, the guttural grandstander received wages to be a candidate.

And it was completely legit.   To a point.  As explained in a fairly recent ethics probe candidates need to eat too:

The Federal Election Commission (“FEC”) explained that “payment of a salary to a candidate is not a prohibited personal use as defined under Commission regulations since, but for the candidacy, the candidate would be paid a salary in exchange for services rendered to an employer.” See Using Contributions to Pay Salaries to Candidates, 67 Fed. Reg. 76961, 76971-73 (Dec. 13, 2002). In reaching this conclusion, the FEC explained: “[B]ecause many candidates must forego salary in order to conduct the business of the campaign, a candidate who is dependent on an income is put at a severe disadvantage compared to an incumbent who is free to campaign at all times without any reduction in compensation or to an affluent challenger, who can afford to campaign without receiving any compensation.” Id. at 76971. Put differently, “candidates without significant resources might not be able to forgo salary payments in order to run for Federal office.”

Thus a social worker who couldn’t work her regular job was introduced to an overflowing campaign kitty.

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All the Other Stuff, Michigan, Opinion, Philosophy

Remember Them

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This is a day of memoriam, not of celebration . . . “happy” does not EVER apply.

I originally published this article back on the previous version of this site, eight years ago, and thought it overdue for a republish. My source material at the time was an interoffice email, circa 1998, from a shipmate (with whom I’m still in touch), whose letter I’d still had in my digital files, but have since lost. At least to me, the original author is unknown.

As the graphic below illustrates, a mere seven percent of the total American population have ever served in military forces of the United States. (I remember reading somewhere that only 1% of the total American population is currently serving.) To make this number a tad more practical, if you were to door-knock any random twenty houses in your neighborhood, statistically only one of those households would contain someone who’s active duty, a reservist, a guardsman, a retiree, or other veteran.

On a day dedicated to national memoriam, we do well to properly remember those who’ve served, even if we cannot personally name even one of them.

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Elections, Michigan, Opinion

Just Arrived

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Vintage 2016

Gift bottles for all my favorite #DTS sufferers.

I’ve heard there was a version for Hillary supporters, but I would have to think they only wanted sour grapes.  No thanks!

2016 was sweet, and red.   Hoping the 2020 Vintage is just the same!

Have a great weekend!

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Elections, Michigan, Michigan Politics

Off To The Races

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Super PAC fires first shots on GND.

AOC and her ‘crew’ has friends in the Senate, right?

Restoration PAC today announced a new statewide TV ad buy in Michigan asking incumbent liberal Senator Gary Peters to clarify his position on the Green New Deal.

Peters told the Detroit News he supports “many aspects” of the radical plan, but has been cagey about specifics.

“Considering the Green New Deal is the most radical, far-reaching planned destruction of the American economy in our lifetime, the least Gary Peters can do is spell out what he likes and what he dislikes about the plan,” said Restoration PAC founder Doug Truax.

The :30 ad airs across Michigan starting today and costs $879,294.

Restoration PAC was formed in 2015 and since has become one of the most effective conservative SuperPACs in America. It has focused primarily on U.S. Senate races but has also launched TV and digital advertising in the 2016 presidential race and several House races.

It’s ad will be one of the first salvos aiding the removal of Peters and hopefully adding another R to the Senate roster in 2020.

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Michigan, Philosophy

Whack A Mole

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Michigan’s favorite NPV advocate is back at it.

Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty, and nearly everything we still hold dear. Reminding us that the left never sleeps, and that anyone can be bought, Saul Anuzis has popped his head up for yet another game of whack-an-NPV-Mole.

Lying about what Trump said at a rally in support of the dumbest progressive unconstitutional effort since 1913 and the income tax, Anuzis and deposed RNC hack Michael Steele heap on the stupid.  And Tom LaDuke is having none of it.   LaDuke reminds us on Redstate

The two men that wrote this piece for the Detroit News are Saul Anuzis former chairman of the Michigan Republican Party and Michael Steele who is the former chairman of the RNC and current MSNBC talking head. Both men are relatively famous for leaving both the state party and national party in a bit of a mess after they left their respective positions.

Now here is what Trump ACTUALLY SAID in Dallas from Rev…

Remember these phony people, there is no way to get to 270 you had to get to … So I kept going to Maine. I love Maine, but Maine too, you get one. It’s cut in half. Maine, to you get one. I went there four or five times because … They got me up, the phonies, they got me up to 269, couldn’t get to 270 so I went … I won, by the way, I won Maine too. I got one. But I went there and I went there a lot. That’s the beautiful thing about the electoral college, you go everywhere. You don’t just spend the three … winning the popular vote would be much easier. I’d rather have that. I’d go to four states and relax. I went to 21 States.

Let’s look at the money quote again.

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2020 Presidential Election, All the Other Stuff, Conservative News, Cronyism, Democrats, Elections, Government Incompetence, Liberty, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Opinion, Redistricting, Republicans

Making a deal with the devil.

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Buried in the headlines this week between yet another fake news story regarding the pending impeachment of Pres. Trump, fixing Gov Whitmer’s line item frenzy (contrary to the media buzz, there is serious talk behind the scenes pertaining to fixing Gov. Whitmer’s not-so little temper tantrum screw-up) and the comedy of errors with the GM-UAW Strike, this story from Lansing surprising got very little attention.

Which gets even more interesting once you are made aware of what the topic of discussion was all about.

{Continues after the fold}

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Michigan, Philosophy

Sunday Sermon – Reformation Angel

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Revelation 14:6-7

Have you ever had a complete stranger come up to you in the mall or at the supermarket, look at your baby daughter or son, and say something like, “Oooh, isn’t he or she an angel?”

What do you suppose they mean when they say that? In what ways was your baby like an angel? Perhaps people have the notion that angels are pretty and cute, and that’s the impression that one gets when they see an angel picture in a Christian book store. So in that sense, a baby might remind them of an angel. Of course we might also refer to someone as an angel who is unusually kind to other people (“they are such an angel!”). But I doubt we have ever had someone come up to our baby and say, “Wow, what a…a…messenger!” And yet that’s what both the Hebrew and Greek words for “angel” really mean: a messenger.

The Book of Revelation, from where our first reading is taken, is the only book of prophecy in the New Testament. And in his vision of forthcoming events, John sees an angel coming in the future. Some have supposed that this angel is a prophecy of Martin Luther. In fact, when Luther died in 1546, his pastor used this very text to base his funeral sermon on – because Luther was an angel. He was a messenger of God.

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Michigan, Michigan Politics

Why?

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$500,000 buys a card to be here.

Japanese pastry shop mentioned by WXYZ that isn’t Japanese. Imagine that. Ambiguous allegedly gay dude and twofers explain…

More bullshit from Fake News WXYZ Diversity (All Hail Diversity!), and Oakland County going into the toilet- hard.

Livingston County gone in five.

Called it five years ago. Dan didn’t like it, but you watch.

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Economy, Government Incompetence, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Opinion

At What Cost?

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Spending more in one area of the economy comes at what price?

One of Governor Whitmer’s veto targets may have been a good thing.  In one way anyhow.

For all the wrong reasons, the governor popped the fuses on a number of causes that have had state support for years.  Charter schools ability to get on-par funding with their failing counterparts, health subsidies to regional hospitals, and busing for kids in remote regions closely associated with the house speaker’s election district.

All of these met the veto pen as leverage for her 45 cent a gallon gas tax.  Clearly, the governor has shown where her heart lays on particular issues. Using at-risk children and health providers as leverage to get her 45 cent tax on the working poor.

One particular veto however, has a silver lining.  The end of taxpayer dollars used for advertising a particular industry.

Under the guise of benefit to all, the tourism industry has enjoyed a 13 year subsidized existence with the Pure Michigan campaign. 

The state has run the Pure Michigan campaign since 2006, ultimately placing advertisements outside of Michigan in hopes of luring in tourists and their dollars. It has had some memorably creative moments, such as the ads narrated by Michigan actor Tim Allen and overlaid by the theme music from the movie “Cider House Rules.”

We all like the music, and know the voice.

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