Philosophy

Gridlock Is Good?

Bill Ballenger, Kyle Melinn make the point that might have to be considered in this election.

Video found at VoteForGridlock.com

Its pretty bad when our BEST alternative comes from tying the hands of our lawmakers so that they might accomplish none of their goals. Its bad when either gubernatorial candidate represents a regressive or potentially dangerous path for our state. Its uncomfortable to have to advocate such a position, but Ballenger, and Melinn get it.

Look, its not as if we didn’t warn of the poison infecting the Republican party before. Mark Schauer is BAD NEWS. But Rick Snyder, beyond whatever reasonable reforms already made, has his own plans that we will not, and can not support any more than the Democrat’s own.

If Snyder loses, (which appears to be less probable the more folks see Schauer) it must be seen as a clear repudiation by conservatives, and a loss of the base. Don’t think the flags wouldn’t be raised for broader support of the Schauer (leftist) doctrine. As we have seen already, the Romney loss and subsequent misplaced blame was a severe example of denial by party leadership.

You Betcha! (20)Nuh Uh.(2)

They all lie

***UPDATE BELOW***

What utter crap Lansing, and Snyder’s talking-heads are peddling to these nurses.

Nurses in Michigan and nationwide charged Wednesday they are not adequately prepared to care for Ebola patients, lacking both the training and proper equipment to deal with the deadly disease.

The Michigan Nurses Association called on Gov. Rick Snyder for greater leadership, even as state agencies and the Michigan State Police stepped up efforts to prepare for a possible outbreak.

alphalogicSnyder spokesman Dave Murray said the administration is pushing the group for details about the complaints because its “statements are very general and broad.”

The state Department of Community Health said Wednesday it continues to follow the situation in Texas.

“The governor was 100 percent correct when on Oct. 9 he said all hospitals were equipped to do isolation work per the Centers for Disease Control requirements at that time,” department spokeswoman Jennifer Smith said.

CDC? Oh, that’s rich. The fact is The State (government) is lying to everyone.

So let’s look at that infrastructure.
There are, in fact, a total of four medical isolation units in the entire United States, as we noted yesterday, that are capable of handling infected Ebola patients near endlessly.
Where are they, and what can they handle?
Emory University’s Serious Communicable Disease Unit is in Atlanta, GA. That’s where Brantly and Writebol were treated. It has three beds.
St. Patrick Hospital’s ICU Isolation Unit is in Missoula MT. It has three beds.
The National Institute of Health’s Special Clinical Studies Unit is in Bethesda MD. It has seven beds.
And the biggest, the Nebraska Medical Center’s Biocontainment Unit is in Omaha NE. It has ten beds.

3+3+7+10=23 beds, coast to coast.

MORE

So, where did they just transport Dallas Nurse #1? If you guessed Maryland – Bingo!

More… this Ebola stuff sounds like a whole bag of fun, yes?

H/t Wirecutter

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WTF! Now it’s Speed Cameras?

Yet another good argument for a part-time legislature.

“I signed on to this bill because it was presented to me as something to protect the safety of children,” Sen. Jones continued.

MORE

AbsurditiesThat is perhaps one of the dumbest walk-backs I’ve seen in a long, long time. Hello? Who was the sponsor of the bill? Senator Jones, your village called the offices of RightMi.com looking for their missing idiot. Please return to your district ASAP.

You Betcha! (26)Nuh Uh.(1)

Is the drug trade truly violent?

Before I get started, let me say this: A LOT OF DRUGS OUT THERE (including legally prescribed pharmaceuticals) ARE A BAD, BAD, BAD IDEA AND YOU SHOULDN’T USE THEM, TRY THEM, OR OTHERWISE GET INVOLVED WITH THEM. (See: Heroin, Cocaine, Crack).  Many drugs are bad, mmmmmkay, kids?

That aside, I’ll go on…

Yesterday I had lunch with one of my colleagues.  He’s a younger, very logical, well reasoned guy.  His father is a State Trooper.  That is to say, he’s probably grown up with the idea that the state (that is, a general term for Government) and maybe even the drug war are good things.  Along the way, we got talking about crimes and how I believe the only true crimes are crimes that involve a victim (crimes against person or property).  This lead into a talk about the drug trade.

One argument he brought up in support of Federal and State prohibition policies was: well, the drug trade is inherently violent and that’s why we need to keep prohibition.  Then I asked him: Why is the drug trade violent?

Let me ask you, the reader, the same question: Why is the drug trade violent?

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Limerick Laureate

From the "no, seriously, we should really, really, really, consider a part-time legislature" files.

pscholkaWhy stop at creating a poet laureate position?

Such important matters to tend to in Lansing.  Would-be candidate for house leadership Al Psholka is the ONLY Republican to co-sponsor HB5853. From Capitol Confidential:

“Now there’s a concept worthy of a poem.

*The measure has 12 Democratic cosponsors and one Republican, Rep. Al Pscholka, who also is maneuvering to be the next Speaker of the House. The Democrats are Reps. Rashida Tlaib, Jon Switalski, Henry Yanez, Scott Dianda, Jeff Irwin, Tim Greimel, Tim Kelly, Marcia Hovey-Wright, Adam Zemke, Sam Singh, Andrew J. Kandrevas and David Rutledge.”

A poem?

Perhaps not.  Maybe instead, a limerick?

There once was a Rep name of Psholka
A champion of liberal Polka
“A Poet” He said,  “Would put me ahead”
For a leadership post, he’s a Joke-a

I want that appointment.

You Betcha! (11)Nuh Uh.(0)