Philosophy

Michigan, Michigan Politics, Opinion, Philosophy

Building A Better Fishwrap

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Traditional Media misses one of the reasons behind Social Media successes.

Grand Traverse County has about 92,000 People within it’s boundaries.

Of those 92,000 people, there are 72,891 adults, (16,856 of whom are seniors) with most being (presumably) literate.  But of those who are literate (and some who are not), most are blessed with their own perspective, ideals, their own take on the community and thoughts on each day’s events.  In short they have their own opinions.

And for the time of all humanity before the early 1990’s, those opinions might have been limited to written correspondence, trips before a jury, the occasional party, social gathering, political event, or even a torch and pitchfork mob.  Daily expressions of perspective were hardly possible or practicable, or anything close to what can be done now within seconds on new media platforms such as email, Facebook, Gab , instagram, or Twitter.

And newsprint media has always had, yet strangely maintains it’s own limits.  The local newspaper is typically published daily and has one, and rarely two pages dedicated to the pulse of the community.

Of those nearly 17,000 seniors in our county (as described above), how many don’t have any interest in Facebook or the other platforms?  Out of those shouldn’t we be curious how many have given up on trying to let their views be seen because of limits that the print media enforces in its soy-ink ‘community’ forum?

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Michigan, Michigan Politics, Opinion, Philosophy

A ‘Solemn’ Day

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"impeach the M****R F****R" Tlaib clearly ..solemn.

The marathon of speeches during the impeachment debacle yesterday saw scores of Democrats decrying the need to be there.

They all started out with “I wish we we didn’t have to do this”  or “this is something we wish we wouldn’t have to do” or “its a sad day.” The Democrats openly lamented the grave responsibility they had to enforce the constitution and checks and balances or some other crap they could insert into a political ad later in 2020.

The broad array of projection, obfuscation and outright lies might well have been designed to bore away watchers even as many of them secretly may suspect they have completely and utterly shit the bed.  The house speaker even suggested withholding the resulting partisan vote from the Senate unless they get the rules set in a way that will work for them.

The house speaker even had to shush the Democrats in the house when they began to cheer the resulting vote (with zero Republicans) as she knows the only way to convey the ‘solemnity’ of the occasion is to get the morons in check and STFU.   Good luck with that.

I present to you the face of the new Democrats.

Rashida Tlaib’s “Let’s do this” lends to such solemnity as Pelosi’s prayers for our president do for the soul of our people’s house.

#Trump2020 by a landslide?

 

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All the Other Stuff, Michigan, Philosophy

Happy Thanksgiving.

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By the President of the United States of America. a Proclamation.

Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor—and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me “to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.”

Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be—That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks—for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation—for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his Providence which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war—for the great degree of tranquillity, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed—for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted—for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.

and also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions—to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually—to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed—to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shewn kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord—To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the encrease of science among them and us—and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand at the City of New-York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.

George Washington

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Michigan, Michigan Politics, Opinion, Philosophy

Maybe Bat Guano?

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Mike Shirkey forgot to use the dollar sign for his 's'

It is what it is.

Mike Shirkey, Michigan’s Republican Senate leader said what he felt at the time, but forgot that triggered people trigger.  Obviously his position is one of institutional respect, and the branches of our governmental authority must work together for the benefit of Michigan.  But straight out calling the governor and her Democrat counter parts a bad name?  Heaven forbid we continue our word oppression of the overly sensitive progressive.

It started earlier this month with Shirkey’s spokeswoman saying the governor “has proven herself untrustworthy” following a series of public events where Whitmer supported an organization — and then vetoed their state funding in her budget standoff with Shirkey and the GOP.

Then Shirkey spouted off in a speech before a group of College Republicans at Hillsdale College, reportedly painting Whitmer and her fellow Democrats as being “on the batshit crazy spectrum,” The Hillsdale Collegian student newspaper reported Thursday.

Oh crap, now he did it.

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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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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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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, Opinion, Philosophy, Republicans

The Ability To Strike

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Unions, and particularly the UAW ought to be the biggest Trump supporters around.

The temp issue that seems to be holding up the negotiations could easily be rectified in a south looking economy.

General Motors would/could plan a shrinkage, but for the Trump economy which promises more reward no matter which way the negotiations turn. The economy is booming and set for an even greater long term growth cycle.  Partly due to more permissive regulatory climate, and a favorable correction of trade rule imbalance.  The US of A is no longer subsidizing the world’s oppressive government in the same way, and our balance sheet is strong.

The unions right now have an upper hand.  Not because of successes of liberal/left policies, but because of the success of Trump, and pro growth, which puts a strain on the available work force.  In other words when everyone is working, no successful business can take existing employees for granted.  This is supply and demand in action.

For labor, this is nothing short of utopia.  From a bargaining perspective who is more advantaged in a strong economy that has historically low unemployment?

It needs to be said that Donald Trump has been a friend to labor.  How better than by simply providing an environment where they can legitimately exercise a lesson in ‘value?’

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All the Other Stuff, Firearms, Michigan, Philosophy

When They Are Wrong

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What the Media Don't Know About the AR 15

What is an Assault Rifle / The Debate

It appears the political establishment, the media and their “puppet” hosts and pundits, and a large percentage of the public, especially those who are anti-gun rights advocates know very little if anything about the functional differences between an AR-15 and an “assault rifle”. This conclusion is based on their discussions and commentary where they erroneously allege that “assault rifles” are generally available for purchase by the public.

What is an AR-15?

Politicians, the media and antigun rights advocates erroneously characterize to an uninformed public that an AR-15 is an “assault rifle”. The AR-15 is NOT a fully automatic weapon. A fully automatic weapon shoots multiple bullets with one pull of the trigger.The AR-15 fires only one bullet each time the trigger is pulled. The letters AR stand for “Armalite Rifle,” based on the company that created the weapon. The term AR is akin to a brand designation and not an abbreviation for a descriptive or functional purpose. The number 15 is the model number. The letters “AR” do not mean “Assault Rifle” as erroneously alleged.

AR-15 rifles are legal in all 50 states, and may be purchased provided the purchaser passes a mandatory FBI background check required for all retail and gun show gun purchases by licensed dealers and in compliance with Federal and State Law. An AR-15 is not a military assault rifle because it does not meet the rapid fire standard, nor does it have other functional capabilities that are build into a military style rifle such as the M-16.The uninformed non-gun advocate may confuse an AR 15 with a military style M-16 because of non-functional similarities in design and appearance.

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All the Other Stuff, Michigan, Philosophy

Sunday Sermon – Fearfully And Wonderfully Made

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Psalm 139:1-18

Most of you know that I am involved with Michigan’s Heartbeat initiative and in the ensuing weeks I will be encouraging all of us to participate in Life Chain Sunday. As such, the Holy Spirit has put it on my heart to reflect on the sacredness of human life. The child in the womb, the elderly, the weak, the mentally challenged, and those with physical limitations are all precious in God’s sight.

Our Heavenly Father is the giver of life. Genesis 1:26-27 reads: “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” Or as the psalmist put it, we are fearfully and wonderfully made.

Human life is a gift that should be celebrated and protected. Unfortunately that is not always the case. The right to life is an issue that sparks heated and sometimes hostile debate. The issue of abortion is one that divides families and friends. Some people are pro-choice while others are pro-life and the argument as to when life begins rages on.

I believe, with all that is in me, that life begins at conception. Many disagree with me, but the reality is, my opinion does not matter and neither does theirs! In fact, it doesn’t matter what the congress says, it doesn’t matter what the President says, it doesn’t matter what Planned Parenthood says, it doesn’t even matter what the Supreme Court has to say on the subject… what really matters is what God has to say about the value of human life.

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