So in the latest distraction in our 24-hour News Cycle World, the latest “outrage” is coming from a surprising source?
And just whom that might be, you may ask yourself?
{Click below to learn the answer}
(7)Nuh Uh.
(0)Recidivism Is Worse Than We Have Been Told
Michigan has been at the forefront of ‘criminal justice reform’, which is newspeak for prison population reduction. In just a few years, Michigan has driven the MDoC prison population down 18%. Democrats love criminal justice reform because it gets one of their major constituencies back on the streets, and voting. Republicans love criminal justice reform because it cuts prison spending, which has become a bottomless pit with all the various mandates. Both of these views are decidedly near term.
The question for non criminal Michigan residents is longer term: will crime rates rise as more prisoners spend less time incarcerated and more time in your neighborhood?
A study just released by the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics undermines the case for criminal justice reforms intended to reduce prison populations. This study contradicts previous studies which showed much lower rates of recidivism, probably because it better tracks released prisoners who have moved to other states and also looks at a longer time frame.
This BJS study followed 67,966 state prisoners released in 2005, in 30 states, over the 9 year period following their release. This was a statistically representative sample (16.8%) of the 404,638 prisoners released that year in those 30 states. The BJS study included 2,603 Michigan individuals; sampled from the 12,177 releases from MDoC custody during 2005.
(9)Nuh Uh.(0)
Recently, I received an email showing all of the “conservative leaders” throughout the state of Michigan who support House Speaker Tom Leonard for Attorney General. This list of leaders assured me that Leonard’s leadership record in the House was impeccible and that he is a man who “truly understands our issues and stands up for our values.”
Then I saw that he voted for House Bill 5325 (HB5325), legislation that hikes property taxes on homeowners for the purposes of crony giveaways to well-connected private interests. This scam is called a “special assessment” and a similar scheme may be on a local ballot in your municipality in the near future. This fraud is now picking up steam because of Leonard’s actions.
(15)Nuh Uh.(2)An unnecessary urinating contest risks two primary frontrunners canceling each other out.
It’s a given to the point of predictability, in contested republican primaries, that eventually someone will defensively mis-invoke Reagan’s Eleventh Commandment. Naturally, this will require someone to explain that the intent of “thou shalt not speak ill of a fellow republican” is a prohibition against personal attacks, but that calling someone out on an accurate understanding of their actual record is always fair game. That said, I can honestly say that I never expected to have to explain one of the Ten Commandments in the context of a political campaign, nor that I would have to do so as a remonstration to a political attack that is not only blatantly personal, but also patently false (to the point of being willingly, deliberately, and knowingly deceptive).
(16)Nuh Uh.(0)
The Macomb County Republican Assembly will be hosting the first gubernatorial debate to be held in Macomb County in 2018.
Sen. Pat Colbeck, Dr. Jim Hines and LG Brian Calley are all scheduled to attend.
Citing yet another “scheduling conflict” AG Bill Schuette will not be attending this event.
The event will take place at Macomb Community College University Center on June 7th. Doors will open at 6:30 pm and the debate begins at 7:00pm.
The debate will be moderated by Charlie Langton along with Kathy Hoekstra and Nolan Finley.
Tickets for the event will be free, but there is a limit of two and must be reserved here first before attending. There will be no tickets available at the door.
(7)Nuh Uh.(0)Not arguing the final outcome (nice shot, BTW), but I would’ve thought that the 30mm gun could’ve been equally effective.
Submitted w/o any further comment.
(6)Nuh Uh.(5)With County leaders going off-script and not following the established speaking points. When your (possible) PR-firm goes and takes a page from the Coleman A. Young (The First) Playbook and employed a time-worn (and easily recognizable) tactic which hopelessly backfired. When The Bridge Magazine (of all people), comes out and tells people that the latest iteration of mass transit, the Q-Line, over-promised its potential and hilariously underperformed when it comes to paid ridership and maintaining schedules. Now comes the Michigan Legislature throwing yet another log on the fire that is the RTA.
{You’ll need to click below to find out what that is}
(5)Nuh Uh.(0)I had mentioned earlier about this little shindig happening over in Washington this weekend (Michigan, NOT DC). I also alluded to the fact that I’m not some mindless political cheerleader or brain-dead party apparatchik. If I see that something isn’t right, I have no qualms in saying it. Conservatives have already lost far too much ground by being “polite”.
On the flip-side, I do have several friends who still think rather highly of Pres. Trump. One of them convinced me to mention it here on Right Michigan (and on a side note, persuaded me to attend with him, along with a few others).
Unfortunately, he got delayed in getting out of Indiana. To make matters worse, he ran out of hours and there was no way (legally) for him to make the return part of his run back to Michigan in time to attend.
Even though I may not be part of the aforementioned apparatchik, I do try to look after my friends whenever I can.
So as a courtesy to him (I told him I‘d have this up this evening), along with other Right Michigan readers who were unable to attend, I have included material from last Saturday.
{Continued after the fold}
(7)Nuh Uh.(0)Local leaders aren’t warming up you your schemes. The scuttlebutt is that focus group testing isn’t looking too good either (not having a real plan with real numbers didn‘t help). Lately, you have enlisted local business “leaders” to help in promoting your cockamamie strategy, but wouldn’t you know it, they aren’t getting that much traction either.
So, who are these people and why are they employing the last refuge for desperate men?
Here’s a hint: All the more reason to hold onto your wallet a little more tightly around Detroit.
{I’ll tell you who they are below the fold}
(10)Nuh Uh.(0)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.
(10)Nuh Uh.(0)
