Michigan numbnuts of the week

Not sure if it's Ron Dzwonkowski for wasting our time with this lame piece or Rep. Frank Foster (R-Petoskey) for wasting our tax dollars on his idiocy.

We need to look at knife laws?  Fucking really?  How many knife collectors could there possible be in the state--a couple hundred?  Near as I can tell we don't have any knife factories here.  Let's see--very little trade or commerce potential, no new jobs...what exactly is the upshot of revisiting these laws?

Oh--Rep. Foster gets in good with the American Knife and Tool Institute.  Campaign cash and such.

Think small, stay small.  And speaking of tools....

Peace,
emaycee

Lame times two

I think what's frustrating about traditional media is how shallow the majority of the commentary is--I mean, for Christ's sake, putting thought into it is their fucking job and it truly seems beyond them.

Not sure what happened to Rochelle Riley--at one point during the height of the Bush/Cheney years she was leading the charge for impeachment--but she seems to have joined the Kumbaya movement (it'll all be okay if we just work together in a bipartisan yada, yada, yada).  I would be the last person to defend President Obama, but Riley's charges against Obama are just flat weak (other than the he was supposed to be different but he isn't).  I think there were very few Democrats--or Independents for that matter--who voted for Obama with the belief that he was leading the way for a third party.  We voted for him to return us to the Democratic Party values we hold dear--Social Security, Medicare, pro union, better standard of living for the Middle Class, taking care of the poor.  We may have seen what wasn't actually there--as Digby has noted often--but we weren't voting for an end to partisan gridlock. (Basically because there is no partisan gridlock--it's fucking republican gridlock).  The Dems--led by Nancy Pelosi--have plenty of ideas for getting this country back on its feet, but republicans have blocked us at every turn.  People voted for Obama because he wasn't espousing the bullshit of George W. Bush, and we'd all seen where that had led us.  In fact, I'd say the main reason Obama has failed to get his message across is because he's been too middle of the road, too bipartisan.  The boldest leaders, who have helped the poor and middle class the most (FDR and LBJ) didn't give two shits about bipartisanship--they took care of us first and everyone else could go to hell.  I know the Free Press' few readers are mostly dinosaur conservatives anymore, but Riley's piece was just pathetic.

Wonk had another of his half-ass pieces, too--Christ, this guy is just mailing it in anymore.  While I'll freely admit I was in the "Anthony Weiner Should Resign Because He's Hurting the Cause" camp, I thought, as I did with David Vitter and John Ensign and Arnold Schwarzenegger, that it was much ado about nothing.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with these people making our laws (or, if there is, it is based on Liberal ideas vs. conservative ideas, not their sex lives)--if we applied Wonk's logic to the business world, my guess is that about half of our business leaders would be out of a job due to their sexual pecadilloes.  They are perverts, not idiots.  And what's really sad is that with all the problems this country has, Wonk actually wasted a column (and my fucking time, thank you very much) on drivel such as this.

In a somewhat related note, there are people in this world who are funny, and there are people who are not.  Wonk is obviously in the latter category--if you ain't got it, don't force it.

Peace,
emaycee

Simple Simon met a pieman

I've written about this before, so no need to go into great detail, but Wonk from the Free Press has another one of his moronic columns comparing the budgets of government to those of a family.  Apparently Wonk feels he has some sort of folksy charm (he absolutely does not) that can get those of us with a brain to overlook his simpleton views.  Guess again, Wonk!

If anyone wants to know what's wrong with the whole process of government budgets, they need to look no further than columns such as this one.  This whole idea of regular folks solving big problems works really well in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, but truthfully, America's budgetary problems require a lot more than the heartfelt conviction of Jefferson Smith.  It requires the best and the brightest, and above all else, it requires honesty.  And to pretend that government budgets are just like the family budget is the height of dishonesty.

Peace,
emaycee

Two writers

Kudos to Stephen Henderson for continuing the fight against ending Michigan's EITC.  As he points out, it averages only $83 a family--money that is earned by having a job, and money that is spent, further helping Michigan's economy.  Exactly where are Michigan's Democrats on this one (I'd say with Mark Brewer's leadership it's hardly surprising--perhaps he can manage to piss off one of the few constituencies still in our camp so we can suffer even worse electoral defeats next time around)?  Isn't this our constituency?  God knows republicans will never get off their fat, wealthy asses to help the less financially fortunate.  As Mr. Henderson notes, not having anyone right now advocating for Michigan's poor is indeed a moral shortcoming and does not bode well for our future.

Hisses to Wonk for another in a long line of pointless columns concerning the future of Michigan.  He points out the census numbers from 2010 (surprise--they're bad) and says we can't continue on the current path we are on lest the numbers from 2020 be even worse.  He offers nothing in the way of solutions, and frankly, is blind to the obvious:  the ship for the future of the state of Michigan has already sailed.  Gov. Snyder and the republican majorities have already decided to invest in corporations and the wealthy and not in the citizens of Michigan--those census numbers will continue to decline and the only question is whether we'll be somewhat relevant like Minnesota or completely irrelevant like the Dakotas.

Peace,
emaycee

Short Cuts

A great song once said, "There's something happening here...." My new standard for op-ed pieces is two-fold: first, is it more in depth than the blather I'd get from my neighbor or some other idiot on the streets, and second, is it a piss poor attempt at humor by a writer who's not naturally funny. This piece on "budget-speak" by Wonk from the Free Press fails fucking miserably on both counts. The truly sad part? I paid money for this "analysis." Trite and lame are the best adjectives to describe. The Free Press continues its lovefest for Gov. Snyder--seems the poor little guv just can't get everything he wants because of that awful meanie "politics." Seems to me, though, that the very practices they are lamenting were indeed quite wise checks and balances put into Michigan's constitution, much like the checks and balances in the U.S. Constitution, to prevent the kind of unilateral, fuck over the rest of us (cuts to state employee benefits and wages, ending item pricing laws at the expense of jobs) changes Snyder wants. I particularly loved the title of this companion piece: "Snyder powerless against powerful agency." And thank God for that, since it seems the Michigan Civil Service Commission cares a lot more about folks like me and my family than Dudley Do-Right Snyder does. Seems Candace Miller, Michigan's Republican U.S. rep from the 10th District, was recently named the Great Lakes Legislator of the Year by the Great Lakes Maritime Task Force. This prestigious honor is roughly equivalent to winning the "I Didn't Eat My Boogers After Picking My Nose Award," presented annually by the National Hand Washing Foundation. How do you really fuck over the residents of Michigan? By moving ultraconservative Maura Corrigan from the Michigan Supreme Court (she never met a corporation she couldn't fellate) to the Director of the Michigan Department of Human Services (new motto: "We'll care for you like the Donner Party cared for its members!"). Seems Ms. Corrigan doesn't believe college students are entitled to food stamps and as an argument she uses the time-worn republican fear tactic--"People are cheating the system!" As proof, she offers...nothing. What's really sad is that while other nations are smartly building their nations' future by offering free college educations to their students (Germany, France, Ireland, India) we're sending ours into indentured servitude with humongous loan obligations, and trying to scare people over pennies. Penny wise and pound foolish is not likely to make for much of a future in America. The Detroit News continues its assault on the middle class by encouraging the republican (another group that hates the middle class) led legislature in Michigan to bypass the Michigan Civil Service Commission and screw over the working people of Michigan again by cutting wages and benefits, all the while creating lawsuit after lawsuit that we can ill afford. Brilliant analysis, guys! Nolan Finley continues his quest to turn Gov. Snyder into Michigan's own version of Ronald Reagan by rewriting history before it even fucking happens! No, Nolan, the lovefest for Snyder will be ending because Democrats and moderate independents are beginning to realize the emperor has no clothes, i.e., that Snyder, despite his claims to be oh so different from every other politician is, after all, just another republican. And to close it out, kudos to the Free Press for getting at least one thing right this week: this piece which tells us the stunning news that low taxes don't promise economic viability. It's the little things, I tell you.... Peace, emaycee

Class Warfare II

Swear to God, I woke up this morning and it was raining bullshit...from the pages of the Free Press.

In fairness to Wonk, he makes a a valid point: while the auto industry's comeback is very welcome news, we can no longer depend on it here in Michigan (or any other community dependent upon the auto industry) to be the cureall it once was. But then...but then...he has to get into the beltway conventionalism, which in short means "survival of the fittest" which is really short for the wealthy elite, which leaves somewhere around 95% of us fucked. He says Michigan has to switch from "big" to "smart" (good luck with that, considering we just elected the republicans to overwhelming majorities, and if you look up stupid in the dictionary there's a picture of the gop elephant next to it). Here's how he defines "smart": "more people will be left to their own devices" (what the fuck?...is this a nation or Robert Redford in Jeremiah Johnson?), "government will be doing less" (again, what the fuck?...with their utter incompetence--and even more important, their complete lack of concern for the welfare of others--the private sector makes the public sector look like an anal retentive book collector , I somehow doubt most Americans want to end up like some third world nation with children starving in the streets), and "the most dramatic cuts in public employment and services are yet to come"(ditto...why is it always the middle class and the poor who are expected to accept job losses and cuts in needed services? for what, so we can give out more corporate welfare? for what, so the wealthy can put more money in the bank?).

Over the years I've learned that you can't argue with stupid, but when it comes to defending the middle class you can't give up, either.

Peace,
emaycee

Just a song before I go

The Free Press has jumped on its high horse over a scam by some Dems to run false tea party candidates in order to take away votes from republicans in closely contested elections. Wonk has even suggested that--gasp!--we should "throw the book at" them. Let me preface the rest of this post by stating that these are not the type of tactics (though I thoroughly appreciate where such tactics came from--utter frustration with a political system and media that do not have ordinary Americans best interests at heart) I support. And I certainly hope it turns out to be only a couple of low level renegades--I would be sorely disappointed if the leaders of the Democratic Party in Michigan resorted to such republican tactics. That being said... ...methinks I might swallow the Free Press' indignation a bit easier if they had been just as indignant over republican voter suppression in the ACORN "scandal." I'm not even sure they bothered to report on it. Maybe, too, I could buy their anger if they had the prescience to publish pieces such as this or this--you know, pieces that actually look out for the working men and women that populate Michigan; you know, pieces that aren't about their usual Kumbaya bullshit that will get nothing for those same working men and women here in the great state of Michigan. Of late, it's dawned on me that there may be a reason more and more newspapers are paying lip service to republicans and tea party supporters: more subscriptions. Think about it: the tea party tacks old, conservatives tack old--who's more likely to eschew newfangled contraptions like the web? With younger voters tacking to the left, with very few Progressives and Liberals who buy the "liberal media" bullshit (after ten years of living here, the only Progressive issues the Free Press stands with Liberals on are the death penalty, abortion, and, as far as civil benefits and anti-discrimation go, gay rights), who's most likely to abandon the corporately influenced newspaper industry? It's all about the Benjamins, folks. Just a thought. Peace, emaycee

That's the week that was

And I suppose you have to be of a certain age (i.e., old) to understand today's post title. Why doesn't this surprise me? Or this? Where's that ballsy tea party attitude? Oh, it's in hiding? That's the way to stand up for the American people--run and hide (or be hidden) when it turns out you really are a racist or a lunatic. Frankly, get out there and say what you believe--if the people buy it (not likely) they'll vote you into office. If you can't do that, go the fuck home and save the rest of us the trouble (yes, we're talking about Rand Paul of Where's Waldo fame, and Sharron Angle, disciple of Carry Nation). Another brilliant "column" from Wonk. Apparently he missed this (or else gets his news from Chris Matthews, who has a "documentary" next week on the Tea Party). Not having lived in Michigan during Mr. Tisch's important achievement (so-called), I can't recall the rhetoric from the debate, but I really fail to see how having the burden of financing education move from property taxes to the sales tax improved Michigan--especially considering that year after year we have more cuts to education, can't find ways to fund education, and continue to fall down to the depths of Mississippi and Alabama in the education our kids are getting. The only effect the Tea Party will have on Michigan is to drag it farther down (though leave it to Michigan to be a day late and a dollar short, as usual). Brian Dickerson continues the Free Press "Kumbaya" Movement (Golly, gee, Beav, if we'd all just get along we'd all be so much better off). In a word: no. You know, the last two big bipartisan efforts I remember were the Afghanistan War and the Iraq War. Those two worked out so fucking well. I don't have the benefit of Mr. Dickerson's Ivy League education (Princeton must be so fucking proud), but I can't see how California's awarding the general election to the two highest vote getters in the primary is going to make things much better. One can suppose in highly partisan districts (both liberal and conservative) that it is entirely possible that the top two vote getters could be from the same party, thus disenfranchising both the opposing parties and independents (and seriously reducing voter turnout). Certainly, the occasional independent candidate might break through, but...there's a reason Centrism begins with a "C": it's for the average and the mediocre. Said it before, will say it again: these times call for bold leaders with the courage to push through bold ideas whether partisan or not, and the bravery to challenge and defeat the corporate special interests that are keeping true change for the working people from happening. We need a class war, not a fucking peace pipe. Period. Not worth a link, but words certainly are telling (from the Free Press business pages): "...Rick Wagoner, the former General Motors chief who was pushed out in March 2009 after 32 years at the company...." Poor, little Ricky--pushed out...with his golden parachute and jumping to other boards of directors with their lots of pay for little work. Didn't have a damn thing to do with the fact that he ran the company into the ground with his lack of foresight, poor oversight, and general incompetence that left thousands out of work with little more than a few months unemployment compensation. I smell...BULLSHIT on the business pages of the Free Press.... Devil's Advocate: While I would not want to downplay the tragedy and significance of the BP oil spill, if we on the left had spent the last two months focusing as much energy on jobs (admittedly a taller order) as we have on this spill, our chances of averting future disasters such as this would markedly improve. Enough Americans will vote for change if their pocketbooks are suffering, and we won't be the change they are seeking. To be blunt: no jobs equals no clean energy agenda and more offshore drilling. Just sayin'.... Peace, emaycee

Pinheads in the Free Press and News, ad nauseum

So many pinheads, so little time... Once again, Nolan Finley is proving he sucks at math (or is very selective in his use of information). While I am not happy at the amount of money banks and financial institutions have funneled to the Dems, it's funny how Finley only mentions Dems having received money. By my calculations (directly from open secrets.org that Finley mentions), the financial industry for this election cycle has given $6.5 million to Republicans, and $6.3 million to the Dems--that strikes me as roughly 50/50, not the three quarters Finley claims has gone to Democrats. Further, when you look at the last 20 years as Finley mentions, $131 million has gone to Republicans, $90 million to Democrats. Please understand I am not defending the Democrats (Chuck Schumer, you know who you are) taking this money--just pointing out, as Finley does not, that Republicans are even moreso guilty. But what really pisses me off about his piece is the fact that once again Conservidiots are deflecting blame from where it really belongs--the financial industry. Yes, Congress and the SEC could have done much better in protecting us, but ultimately, this is about the financial industry's greed and carelessness. So the News thinks President Obama should name a SCOTUS nominee who will "hear cases with an open mind." Funny, but I don't remember this being one of their concerns when GWB was nominating conservative judicial activists Roberts and Alito. Apparently, only Democrats need to nominate justices with an open mind--Republicans are free to nominate ideologues at their pleasure. Frankly, fuck that--Obama should nominate someone who is to the left of Stevens (if that's possible). And young, too, so he/she can spend years hectoring Roberts and Alito. Ron Dzwonkowski (Wonk from here on out) has another of his lame-ass columns on "commonsense folks," this time concerning the federal deficit. Paul Krugman has written extensively on the difference between the deficit itself and what it means versus the politics of the deficit (a good example can be found here). And any initiative that has the Peter J. Peterson Foundation on board is asking for trouble (Digby here). Hard to know where to begin there's so much bullshit in this article, but first off, I find it really hard to imagine that Dave Camp's entire congressional district is full of folks "who still believe in saving up for what you want and not spending money you don't have." Considering that consumer debt skyrocketed in the early aughts, you'd think a few of them would have spent beyond their means. And just what does this every American being "about $42,000 in the hole" supposed to mean, other than being some second rate scare tactic? Like I'm going to have to come up with 42k to make up for it (and good fucking luck with that). No, as the economy improves, so will tax revenues and the deficit will go down. Finally, does Wonk actually believe, given the complete lack of support Republicans have shown President Obama thus far, that "commonsense" Dave Camp is going to do anything other than push the Republican's colossal failure policies? I'll believe it when Rep. Camp starts talking seriously about cutting the defense budget. And just where are we going to cut anyway? Everyone loves talking about pork, but it's not going to put anything other than a minor dent in it. What do we want--even worse roads? Less education for our kids? Less police and firemen? Worse regulation on our food and work safety? I'd love to hear where they're going to cut that is going to do anything but make our lives worse (though I do have a couple of ideas that won't make our lives miserable--get out of Afghanistan and Iraq now, end corporate welfare). What a fucking idiot. I mean, really--a ban on texting is a restriction on free speech? Isn't it really just a ban on not always being able to do what you want when you want to? I mean if the idiotic messages being passed along are that important, couldn't you pull over for a second? Besides, as Oliver Wendell Holmes so famously stated, the right to free speech isn't absolute (i.e., you can't run into a crowded theatre and shout "Fire!" just because you feel like it). If it presents a clear and present danger (the study she cites says studies have shown that phone use while driving increases the risk of accidents), it can be prohibited. You can swing your fist all you want until it comes into contact with my nose. The problem is that too many people just aren't all that responsible (like the idiot who almost slammed into my family head-on tonight because apparently she thought stop signs are optional). Note to those who do use phones and drive: if you ever hit my car while you're talking on the phone or texting, not only will you be going to the hospital for your injuries, but also to have a phone removed from your ass.... Do you suppose if the Hutatree were Muslims they'd be getting released? Just wondering.... Peace, emaycee

It's all our fault--no, really

Believe it or not, there are things that are more important than politics (roundabout explanation for the lack of posts of late). Still, after two weeks, I'm like a tea kettle itching to start whistling...

Like to start with this recent piece by another genius (not) from the Detroit Free Press, Ron Dzwonkowski (Wonk from here on out). Mr. Wonk is one of those wishy-washy people who consider themselves above the fray and and is considered an "independent." In fairness, I've never believed in "independent" voters. Most "independents" lean one way or the other--because you get fed up occasionally and vote for the other side doesn't change your core beliefs. If you agree with the Democrats 75% of the time, you're a Democrat. Frankly, "independent" to me is just a polite way of saying "wimp." People who don't have the guts to stand up for what they believe and adopt a "Jeez, can't we all just get along?" posture.

Apparently, Mr. Wonk has adopted the Beltway conventional wisdom that all the rancor in Washington is the fault of both parties. In a word: no. The ugliness in Washington stems from Republicans. Period. They are the party of "no." They are the party encouraging the Tea Partiers who are throwing around the "n" word like Johnny Appleseed tossed his magical beans, and blaming the Democrats for it. Frankly, if anything, the Democrats have been too nice--they have bent over backwards (Obama met with them on healthcare, met with both parties on healthcare, many of their concerns were addressed in the stimulus package), but still they vote no and try to claim they were "shut out of the process" as noted by Mr. Wonk. Were Mr. Wonk a true journalist, he would have used one succinct word to describe the Republican response: horseshit.

I think Digby absolutely nailed it here. The plain truth of the matter is that Republicans and their Tea Party cohorts do not believe in any shape or form in democracy. Well, unless you count when they win--then it's okay. No--one of the most amazing events in American history occurred in 1800 when Thomas Jefferson defeated John Adams and took over as President of the United States. Believe it or not, this was the first time in recorded history that a peaceful transition of power took place, one party to the other. That's what makes America great--you win, you make the rules--without fear of being executed if you fail. You lose--you get to work your ass off to defeat the winners, again, without the fear of being executed for opposing the majority. It's that simple.

The trouble with Congress? It's not the Democrats, it's not the liberal bloggers who hold the mainstream media's feet to the fire for their not calling out Republican bullshit--it's Republicans who can't accept losing, can't accept that bills get enacted when you lose that don't meet your platform, and can't accept that their party is not entitled to lead, it has to earn it.

And good luck with that last one (recent Republican polling numbers here).

Peace,
emaycee