Tag Archive for Cronyism

Cronyism, Detroit, Michigan, Rent Seeking, Republicans

Seems About Right

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The Michigan Senate Majority Leader gives 'honest cops' a good name.

And we haven’t even started the ‘Cotton’ picking.

When we start wondering about the passage of hospital related legislation in the state senate, perhaps we simply consider the source of the new legislation to be only as old as government itself. Something as simple as power brokering through backroom deals and a few well placed donations can alter public policy.  We have seen how the $100,000 given to Jase Bolger has brought about the threat of the unthinkable changes to the Elliot Larsen Civil Rights Act.  Even now we should be looking at the reasons for our gas taxes being raised as well.

Though I disagree with bed counts and certificates of need, pushing legislation for ‘good friends’ specific projects violates the spirit of equal opportunity under the law.  Specific legislation that benefits donors as a result of donations offered, ought to be considered criminal if not already.

So when we see 2014 Senate Bill 1073 (Granting medical facility rationing exception to McLaren Health Systems Introduced by Sen. Randy Richardville (R) on September 11, 2014)  to authorize a special exception to the health care facility rationing imposed by the state’s “Certificate of Need” law?  We should be concerned.

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All the Other Stuff, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Opinion, Philosophy, Republicans

Yer ‘Back Door’ Is Open

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Michigan's Speaker attempts to hang on to his working capital by working around the fringe.

james-bolger-322370dbb048d092Presumably making it acceptable for Jase Bolger to accept the $100,000.00 from Pro-Homosexual millionaires, he offers butter for the burn.

Pretending that he opposes the changes in the Elliot Larsen Civil Rights Act proposed by Dems, he offers a fig leaf. From M-Live:

“Bolger is exploring the possibility of pairing an Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act amendment with a Michigan version of the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), which aims to limit laws that would substantially burden a person’s free exercise of religion.

“I believe our society’s got to get this right, and we’ve got to get this right more than we’ve got to get it now,” Bolger, R-Marshall, told MLive. “That right, for me, is one that respects and protects individual freedom and religious liberty. It’s just so much easier to say than to do.”

Right. Individual freedom.

Though there has never been a case that any of us can recall where a person was told; “No you cannot go schtoop your friend because you are the same gender,”  its critical that we protect that freedom.  Even though most of us are perfectly willing close our eyes, and let the deviancy play itself out with the shortened life spans, and emotional destruction that envelops such behavior.

If a ‘Religious exemption’ is all it takes, then everyone who has conscience could claim it as a reason if sued by a queer who are butt-hurt over losing the apartment, job, service, smile, etc., that they want.  Right?  Certainly that clears things up to take the pressure off.

Until we realize they still have a platform from which to launch a lawsuit.  Bolger is playing the same dangerous game that the Vichy GOP has been playing for years, resulting in a corrupted party, with heavy internal fighting.

Dumb move.

 

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Elections, Humor in Michigan, Opinion, Philosophy

The Other Shady Bunch

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What perfect timing to have us some Wayne County Jail indictments.

Jail contractor Walbridge Aldinger was selected over objections from contractors who complained the process favored the company. Its CEO, John Rakolta, served on a board of a nonprofit led by Mullin that was paying her a $75,000 bonus atop her $200,000 salary from the county.

Nah… nothing to see here, here, here, or here.

Move along rank-and-file Romney/Rakolta cult Party sheeple.

Bahahahahahahahahaha!

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Elections, Humor in Michigan, Opinion, Philosophy

If RINOs Fought Democrats as Hard as They Fight TEA Folk

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Yessirree. They’ve been content being the minority Party at the table ever since the big spenders under Bush, gave up both chambers to Reid, and Pelosi, in November, 2006.

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Cronyism, Michigan Politics

MI GOP Joins Progressive-Pride Parade

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Pride Parades have become the vogue for the “Look at me, I’m a celebrity” crowd that now rules pop-culture and its romance with Reality TV.

The MI GOP Convention last weekend, staged like a mindless reality TV show, solidified the MI GOP squarely in the ranks of the Progressive-Pride Parade marching across America.

Scripted to look genuine but only if you believe that professional wrestling and reality TV are real – Much ado about Nothing – No mention of the MI GOP’s repeated violations of the Republican Party Platform – Little if any grappling with the important threats to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness that we face as citizens of Michigan.

A token gesture to the heroic campaign of Wes Nakagiri and his Constutionalist supporters may have been the last hurrah for the Tea Party/Libertarian coalition within the Progressive GOP, calls for unity notwithstanding.

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All the Other Stuff, Cronyism, Michigan Politics, Opinion, Philosophy, Rent Seeking

Franchise Envy

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The power of government can be instructive AND abusive.

When an operation hosted in publicly owned property is as successful as what might be considered only in ‘wildest dreams,’ it is then eyed with a lust that is found only within the failure of bureaucracy.

baseball1I’ve seen it first hand.  In Grand Traverse County in 2010, a highly successful  baseball program run by veterans was quite literally confiscated, and taken over by the landlords.  An empire building, bureaucratic strategist, coupled with a misunderstood management glitch in the popular 62 year old program opened the door to it being taken over by the county.

The PRIVATE program which began more than a half century earlier by veterans building ball fields was summarily sequestered because the landlord didn’t like the way ‘management’ of the program was operating.  The county board was convinced to back a parks decision to take the program away from the vets, and the participation dropped by 30%.

In the end, a newly elected county board (including myself) in the beginning of 2011 convinced enough of the old to give it back.  In the end as well however, we should note that it was a government entity (the parks department) trying to justify its existence, (programming beyond rental of properties) show a profit (a stated argument during the takeover) and be a controlling authority.

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Conservative News, Elections, Michigan, Rent Seeking, Republicans

If it isn’t a Cousin With Furniture Contracts, Then it’s…

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Other no-bid contracts on wasteful spending eliminated from Wisconsin government.

“I guess if I were running a multimillion-dollar company, which you are called MDOT, and I only got one bid, boy, would I be nervous as to what I had missed, and I guess I would step back and look at the entire process and start all over again,” said Sen. Bruce Caswell, R-Hillsdale.

REST

Ironic is who is now the fly in Snyder’s Big “transparent” Government ointment. Yet, MDOT and the Republican brain-trust say they need more money for fixing roads? Gee, one wonders why…
Talgo_MDOT

click to enbiggen

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Michigan Politics

More Activism In The Judiciary

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Should The Judiciary Throw Away Michigan's Signature Gathering Standards Entirely? It Seems Ken Braun Thinks So.

petitionBy now most folks have heard that a federal judge has given John Conyer’s congressional career a new lease on life.

Kathy Koekstra accurately predicted that U.S. District Judge Matthew Leitman would give John Conyers his signatures based on a misplaced application of the First Amendment.  Judge Leitman wrote:

” .. the free speech rights of Conyers and the circulators were harmed, an argument pressed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan.

There’s evidence that the failure to comply with the law was a “result of good-faith mistakes and that (circulators) believed they were in compliance with the statute,” the judge said.

Because the circulators were such involved voting citizens that they just forgot to register to vote. (or forgot where they lived)

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