Philosophy

2018 Michigan Gubernatorial Race, Government Incompetence, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Opinion, Philosophy, Republicans

Milton Friedman For Governor

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If you wanted the best economic outcome for Michigan, wouldn't he get your vote?

Today’s economists aren’t.

I mean they aren’t around anymore. Not since November 2006 anyhow.  That was when Milton Friedman took his last breath.

No one understood markets based on how people respond to incentive like Milton Friedman.  While sympathetic to our desire to do good for others, he recognized the nature of how we prioritize (en mass) when making spending decisions.

The first time I heard the “four ways to spend money” was not Friedman however.  It was during a presentation on health care options for Michigan by Pat Colbeck.  He wasn’t a candidate for Governor at that time, but he was clearly advocating a sensible approach on how we pay for our health care needs.  Part of it is returning the incentive to those who will watch more closely how well the money is spent to achieve the best results and at lowest cost.

A recent newsletter from the Mackinac center reminded me of this, which is the way Colbeck had put it a year and a half ago.

There only four ways to spend money.

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Cronyism, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Opinion, Philosophy, Rent Seeking

Blowing Us Away

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Only SANCTIONED thievery is allowed in Michigan's cronyism environment.

It wasn’t just Granholm.

Rick Snyder got the ball rolling back not too long after Jennifer Granholm was blushing behind a privacy screen on the dating game, but well before she became our state’s executive Monte Hall.

Rick Snyder was the first CEO of the MEDC, and don’t let this fact escape anyone.

The MEDC has given BILLIONS of dollars to ‘winners’ since its inception in the 90s.  Granholm was certainly more embarrassed however, to find out that it was the MEDC under her watch which gave $9 million to a guy running an international corporation out of a trailer in flint. He just got out of prison.

That guy didn’t really have a business, and he went to jail.  He didn’t create the jobs and suffered penalties for fraud.

Of course there were others who abused the system and also paid.

But then there were others who legitimately, and legally stole from us under Rick Snyder’s creation, have not created those jobs, and none are screaming for heads. (free market minute audio here)

Why do you suppose that is the way its done?

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Michigan, Philosophy

Sunday Sermon – Palm Sunday

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Rejoice Over Your King - Zechariah 9:9

Today marks the opening of a very serious and yet enjoyable time of year for Christians.

It’s the week we call Holy Week. We have been planning events, making arrangements and preparing ourselves for this special season of worship. And we call it “Holy Week” because we celebrate the events which led up to the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

It is this series of events which point to the most significant time in human history – a point which all prior history had looked forward to with expectancy, and all history since has looked back upon with wonder.

Certainly the ministry of Jesus Christ spanned more than a week, but this one week in His life was filled with so much significance. Every moment was driving toward the culmination of His rising following His propitiatory work on the cross.

Holy Week begins today with the very memorable scene from Scripture.

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Government Incompetence, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Opinion, Philosophy, Republicans

Yet Michigan Republicans Continue To Fund The Beast

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Leftist indoctrination centers long on cash, yet short on real value.

Michigan’s state constitution does not specify a value when it mandates the support of our colleges and universities.

§ 4 Higher education institutions; appropriations, accounting, public sessions of boards.

Sec. 4.

The legislature shall appropriate moneys to maintain the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, Wayne State University, Eastern Michigan University, Michigan College of Science and Technology, Central Michigan University, Northern Michigan University, Western Michigan University, Ferris Institute, Grand Valley State College, by whatever names such institutions may hereafter be known, and other institutions of higher education established by law. The legislature shall be given an annual accounting of all income and expenditures by each of these educational institutions. Formal sessions of governing boards of such institutions shall be open to the public.

Shall appropriate moneys.

How much?  It could be $1 million each school, money for a truck, or other provision that ‘maintains’ in someway the universities and colleges in our state.  But instead, we punish our taxpayers, and frankly our social norms by paying nearly 2 Billion a year for that which kills our culture and promotes leftist ideology.

And Michigan has Republican dominated Legislatures and Executive offices. go figure.

The slide into values negative programming was so obviously nearly complete when we discovered the University of Michigan was spending $85 million of our hard earned resources to promote a false vision of diversity.

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Conservative News, Michigan, Philosophy

MICPAC April 6-7, 2018

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Get your tickets now!

Michigan’s premier annual gathering for principled patriots and conservatives. This conference gets results. Task forces on Education, Property Rights, Legislative and judicial accountability, this is where the grass roots kicked off the Freedom To Work campaign.

At MiCPAC we bridge and network.all elements of the conservative movement – limited government; tax limitation; Life; faith; evangelicals; Tea Party; Constitutional; tax limitation, home schoolers, 1st, 2nd & 10th Amendments; traditionalists; National security; Labor Freedom as we continue the work of the Founders to preserve a constitutional republic for the next generations.

We keep the faith AND, we recruit, educate, train, inspire and enable grass roots leaders, candidates, campaign workers.

Be all you can be in theology, philosophy, public policies and politics by this conference with fellow believers and leaders in academia, think tanks, business, labor and grass roots activism.

We have new breath in President Trump and the Trump Administration, and new opportunity in Michigan as well. As we gear up for conventions and elections in 2018, this Conference will be pivotal for We The People. Be there!

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Conservative News, Liberty, Michigan, Opinion, Philosophy, Religious Freedom

Religious Liberty

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The Trump administration appears to be advancing certain freedoms quite reliably.

Thanks to the Trump admin, the baby killers are getting nervous.

Apparently Planned parenthood folks are so far gone in their willingness to snuff out human life, they would deny practicing physicians the ability to conscientiously object.  Objecting to new HHS rules PP is going into conniptions:

“Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider, is encouraging their supporters to tell the Department of Health Human Services (HHS) that a proposed rule to strengthen conscience protections for healthcare providers is “dangerous” and “encourages discrimination.” The rule requires health care providers to notify their employees of protections against religious discrimination on job applications and employee manuals. The rule also allows the HHS Office of Civil Rights (OCR) to enforce protections for religious medical providers.”

Outstanding.

‘Choice’ apparently has a different meaning to the child hunters.  Until government is used to directly control our lives (sans the personal choice of fetal sepaku), the leftist monsters won’t be happy.

Its a good sign of personal conscience protections from a government realigning itself with the constitution.  Other health care fields might also benefit from such positive efforts. I wonder if this could be re-litigated?

Sure.

 

 

 

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Cronyism, Government Incompetence, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Philosophy, Taxes

Mo Money

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Eight years of tax increases.

Michigan taxpayers shelled out an extra $32.6 billion in state taxes over the last eight years.

Money collected in state tax revenue per Cap Con and their associated graphic:

The eight year total increase in taxes amounts to an aggregate of roughly $3,400 for every legal man, woman and child in the state of Michigan.

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Conservative News, Michigan, Opinion, Philosophy

Trump’s Good Opportunity

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A golden opportunity to actually “pink slip” the nanny state looms large this weekend.

This coming Saturday Noon will mark the first anniversary of the inauguration of Donald John Trump as the 45th President of the United States. If we’re being honest (which the legacy media characteristically is not), then it’s been a year that even Reagan might have envied . . . and no, I’m not yet tired of winning. Believe it or not, though, this weekend might yet be remembered less for the demarcation of DJT’s actual first year in office, and more for the president making good on a threat from back in May, which comeuppance some senators – on both sides of the aisle – are on the record as thinking is some sixteen weeks overdue.

With Friday night’s deadline in mind, in light of the apparent deadlock around key issues (such as immigration infrastructure and military funding), Alice Ollstein penned a Talking Points Memo op-ed discussing what, in her opinion, are the three possible outcomes to the current standoff, none of which are particularly appealing. Former congressman, and current congressional candidate, Kerry Bentivolio, had a somewhat different take on Ms. Ollstein’s opinion, which he shared in an e-mail with fellow veterans, campaign staffers, and other supporters. With Kerry’s permission, I’ll share his thoughts following the break – with a skosh of editorial license and personal wordsmithing applied.

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Michigan, Opinion, Philosophy

Dopey

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An open letter to President Trump.

Mr President, don’t let the failures of AG Sessions define your presidency.

As it turns out was a pretty significant mistake to allow him to stay off hands from the ongoing nonsense (Russia, etc) that is being performed by your enemies.  Make no mistake, these people are looking for some chink in the armor, and those around you who may have forgotten even the most minute details, are threatened with process crimes, that have nothing to do with what the investigation is purportedly about.

This could have been averted by a little show of strength by the attorney general, yet remains ongoing, with the wasting of taxpayer resources. Jeff sessions might be loyal, intelligent, and conservative at his core, but he is proving to be foolish.

The above is water under the bridge now.  It was and remains a waste of time, but will amount to nothing in the end.  The AG is about to undertake another mission however, that promises to lose you broad support, and ultimately cost the nation billions in wasted enforcement effort.

The effort of Jeff Sessions to ‘crack down’ on the recent marijuana surge is a misguided move, guaranteed to lose seats in legislatures, congress, and threaten expensive state lawsuits.

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Michigan, Philosophy

Irony Much?

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Signs of the times in Northern Michigan.

I wonder how many have spent time in the Pugsley Correctional Facility for the charge of selling pot?

Those days are over, as the institution has closed to it’s prison population.  Any remaining dope peddlers are likely moved to other facilities, and … From today’s TC Ticker:

” In the wake of the closure of Pugsley Correctional Facility last year, Kingsley is preparing to trade prison jobs for pot jobs – an option that also is open to neighboring Fife Lake, though township officials there have so far rejected the prospect.

…

Fifteen months after Pugsley’s closure, Kingsley has signed off on permitting marijuana production facilities at its industrial park, a move that officials say wasn’t a direct response to the closure of the prison but should offset some of the job losses. The village has yet to approve a license for any particular business to operate a medical marijuana production facility, but it’s expected to soon receive an application from the Canadian company TheraCann that could call for the construction of a $20 million facility employing 100 people. “

Read the rest.

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