A pop-up caught in foul territory

Apparently in the fantasy world of the Free Press' Stephen Henderson (Editorial Page Editor, no less) a mediocre speech with very little in the way of explanation of exactly how Mr. Romney is going to do a beter job for all of us than President Obama is considered "knock[ing] it out of the park."

Sigh.  Mr. Henderson, whose political sensibilities would be what we used to call a moderate republican (liberal on social issues, fiscally conservative) but what passes for a Liberal in the Free Press (trust me, if Mr. Henderson's political views were Liberal, I wouldn't fucking be one), thinks if only Willard was campaigning like the Governor he was in Massachusetts, all of our problems would be solved.

In a word, bullshit.  Romeny is a chameleon--he was a left-leaning republican in Massachusetts because he had to be to survive in a solidly blue state and he didn't run for re-election because he had as much chance of winning as I did and I wasn't even in the fucking race.  Mr. Romney will be completely beholden to the radical right and the Antoinettes, and if Mr. Henderson believes otherwise he is an idiot (from reading his columns he's not naive).

Funny how the Free Press never once mentioned--not fucking once--that economists are predicting that we'll create 12 million jobs by 2016 regardless of who is in the White House, and Mr. Romney promised us 12 million jobs by 2020.  Talk about things that make you go hmmmm.

If Mr. Henderson truly cared about his readers, the city of Detroit, or the state of Michigan, he would be wise to educate his readership via this piece by Rolling Stone's Matt Taibbi.  It's a piece written of facts and it doesn't give a shit what republicans think of it and it doesn't give them a chance to falsely spin it.  It portrays Willard Romney for what he is:  a vulture capitalist who preys on others and offers nothing in the way of good jobs and financial security for ordinary Americans. 

We may be disappointed with the level of progress from President Obama's administration, but we will be utterly devasted economically by a Romney administation--think Bush the Lesser on steroids times two.

Peace,
emaycee

It's all about the Benjamin Franklin

We are sure, here in Michigan, to be treated to many more elitist pieces on the Emergency Financial Manager law (which basically turns Michigan cities, school districts, and whatever other entity is at the republicans' whim into dictatorships, destroying any semblance of democracy in our once great state to advance their union-busting agenda) like this one by Stephen Henderson in which he calls the EMF law unpleasant but sees a lack of an alternative (we've survived as a state for well over 200 years and no one can think of anything better than slapping the face of voters statewide? fucking really?).  Or this piece by the head of a communications firm (see also, paid bullshit artist), Karen Dumas, who tries to explain to us little peons just why this law became so necessary to save us from ourselves (and has the unmitigated gall to claim that somehow a law which infringes on our voting rights should be upheld because, well, people died defending our voting rights).

There is only one answer to any editorial or guest commentary asking us to uphold the EMF law on November 6th, and that is the words of Mr. Benjamin Franklin, who so presciently professed that those who give up their liberty for a little security deserve neither.

Woe unto any Michigander who gives up their voting voice for supposed financial security--mark my words, if we allow it to continue, the EMF law will be the beginning of the end of common men and women having any say in the affairs of this state.

Peace,
emaycee

Red fish

When my subscription lapses to the Detroit Free Press this September, this piece by Stephen Henderson will officially be the figurative straw that broke the camel's back.  At column's end, Henderson--either woefully ignorant or embarrassingly naive--makes this assessment of the Senate race between Democrat Debbie Stabenow and republican Pete Hoekstra:  "It's hard to see how the state could lose no matter who wins."

Un-fucking-believable.

Let me count the ways Hoekstra would be worse for our citizens, in no particular order:

1)  He's a racist as judged by his oft viewed Super Bowl ad with the Asian speaking in a broken accent
2)  He thinks equal pay for women is a "nuisance."
3)  He thinks we should drill for oil in the Great Lakes.
4)  He's a fiscal conservative, the absolute last thing we need in the Senate right now with our economy still struggling.
5)  He's a deficit hawk, the absolute last thing we need in the Senate right now with our economy still struggling (the failures in Europe aren't from overspending, they're from not spending enough).
6)  Henderson is living in fucking La-la Land if he thinks Hoekstra is going to be some maverick republican based on a couple of half-assed compromises he made when he was in the U.S. House.  If he wins, the day he steps into the Senate Mitch McConnell is going to stick a pole up Hoekstra's ass and he's going to dance however the republican powers that be want him to, just like every other fucking republican in the Senate (and the House, too, for that matter).

That's just off the top of my head.

I mean, if Henderson, head of the Free Press's editorial board, thought he was so great, why did the Free Press endorse his opponent, Clark Durant, for the republican primary?

Frankly, this was merely a Free Press sop to its republican readership.  Henderson just puckered up his lips and placed them squarely on their lily-white asses.

His questionable assertion as to Hoekstra's viability as a candidate for the state of Michigan is beyond disgusting.  We can just call him the Kung Fu Panderer.

Peace,
emaycee

Sleeping with the enemy

As you read this post, the word I most want to be in your mind is "naivete."

I'll give Tom Walsh credit--he didn't laugh in Bob King's (President of the UAW) face after his speech at the Mackinac Policy Conference.  He noted that King's speech was well-received by the conservative leaning crowd--take that with a grain of salt, as no one in that crowd isn't hoping that King doesn't end up flipping burgers at McDonald's.  Note to King:  if you're serious about improving the lives of the people you represent, skip functions such as these.  It was a complete and total waste of time and did nothing now and never will to help the members of your union.  The people you spoke to just don't give a fuck about you or the working class.  They--as well as Gov. Snyder--are not your friends.  They are the enemy.

To a certain extent, the Free Press has cautioned about the direction in which Gov. Snyder is leading the state (editorials here and here), especially with regard to the poor.  I'm not sure if the sentiments are heartfelt or a precursor to pivoting away from its endorsement of Snyder if his plan doesn't work, but as is usually the case with editorials, they had the same effect as a can of air freshener does on an elephant fart:  none.

This piece by Stephen Henderson is probably the piece over the past few weeks that has bothered me the most.  Henderson starts out with a good premise--paraphrased, is Snyder full of shit?  (Good, God, man, of course he is.)  And then proceeds to basically fall all over himself about how great Snyder is:  agreeing with 80% of what Snyder is doing (if that's liberal media we're all fucked), praising Snyder's positive energy (hate to break it to you but fucking wishing won't make it so), and claiming how much Snyder has changed the state's culture (Snyder has merely copied Reagan--shaking your hand with a smile on his face while sticking a knife in your back).  Sure, Henderson claims he's concerned as to whether all Snyder's bullshit will show the results we need in Michigan, but frankly, as I noted above, I think he, like the Free Press, is just covering his ass for when Snyder falls flat on his face.

Remember that word at the beginning?  This is why you should think about it:  all of the above are sadly mistaken in believing that somehow we're all going to work together to solve our problems.  The plain truth is that the powers that be do not give a rat's ass about our economic problems, and frankly, those are the only problems that matter to those of us who live paycheck to paycheck (at least for now).  There will be no Kumbaya moment until we convince those that have the gold that they won't have the gold much longer if we don't get our share.

Or to quote a very special man:  Power to the people, right on!

Peace,
emaycee

Yes, but...

Stephen Henderson continues to give me a sliver of hope for the Free Press--his commentary on teachers and their compensation vis-a-vis their peformance was for the most part, very fair and well thought out.  Still, two points I think he missed....

For one, the idea that somehow we're going to have the first profession in history that has no below average performing employees is, I think, a bit naive.  That's not to say it isn't a goal worth striving for, it's just that there are no tests or performance evaluations in a profession of thousands that are going to completely eliminate incompetence.  And how to judge talented individuals who might not swallow the groupthink?

The second, and more important, I think, is that no one seems to notice that paying teachers less and making their benefit package worse is not exactly going to draw the best and the brightest to the profession.  Seriously--in what other field would anyone consider paying people with four years of college (and many of them much more), the very people you depend upon to lead and grow your business, less money to be a good decision for the future of the business?

As an aside, Mr. Henderson might want to get a word with the Free Press editorial board--it's going to be awfully hard to get some of his sensible suggestions in place if the traditional media keep giving Snyder kudos such as this:  "On the whole, Snyder's budget remains the boldest fundamental blueprint we've seen for reinventing the Michigan economy."  Bold would suggest new and good, but Snyder's budget is little more than Reagan's and Bush the lesser's trickle down economy, both of which were unmitigated disasters for the poor and the middle class.  Which basically leaves Snyder's plan as a retread which will do very little to create jobs for those in Michigan who need them.  About as bold as rice pudding is savory....

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

The mild-mannered radical (not)

Well the pundits have spoken on Gov. Snyder's budget (at least in the Free Press).... Props to Stephen Henderson--he's usually one of those wishy-washy vaguely liberal (think President Obama) pontificators, and while there's some of that in his piece on Snyder's budget, he basically makes a lot of good points, especially with regard to the EITC. He's right--cutting services for the poor is not going to make Michigan a better state. Now that Rochelle Riley has decided to follow Mitch Albom's career path (mindless, completely thoughtless drivel) thank God the Free Press has added Jill Alper's thoughtful new columns. Alper absolutely nails Snyder's budget--republican bullshit to help corporations and the wealthy elite and do absolutely nothing to create jobs or help the working people of Michigan. Media fail--for a Princeton grad, Brian Dickerson isn't as thoughtful as one might surmise from his educational background. He's buying into the cult of personality surrounding Gov. Snyder, calling him a mild-mannered radical. He got the first half right, but Snyder is no radical. Truly radical would have been to call for a graduated income tax and more investment in Michigan, not less. He's a republican--a nice enough gent, but nothing really much different than Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, or any other conservative who thinks the rich should get richer at the expense of the other 98% of Americans. Uh...there was also a piece by John Truscott. Suffice to say, it was his usual fellation of tea party members. Enough said. Perhaps the most telling opinions are these: 62% (32% favor) of Michigan voters oppose the K-12 cuts; a Free Press poll shows horrible numbers for the Governor: 53% (41% favor) are against taxing pensions, 58% (36% favor) against cutting the EITC, 49% (43 % favor) are against replacing the business tax. Even worse for Snyder? His numbers have dropped from 59 favorable/8 unfavorable to 44/27. Whoops! Note to Dems: please remember these policies the next time you cast a vote for a republican in anger. Independents might heed the same warning.... Peace, emaycee

How not to read the tea leaves

You have to love the naivete of The Detroit Free Press. Apparently, their editorial staff paid absolutely no attention during this past election cycle, and cannot read the basic polls that have been cast over the past few days. They are right--Michigan's new Governor, Rick Snyder, does need to keep the GOP's super majority in check, and focus solely on the economy. The odds of this happening, however, are about the same as me hitting a five hundred foot home run off of Tim Lincecum: absolute zero. They cannot be foolish enough to think that a party that found Mike Castle, Lisa Murkowski, and Bob Bennet too liberal for their tastes is going to be satisfied with a moderate republican in the Governor's mansion; Snyder has to know that if he doesn't toe the radical right line, he's going to face a challenge in 2014 from the far right. And can anybody imagine the chamber of commerce or all the outstate special interest groups who poured millions into Snyder's campaign settling for anything but the utter destruction of the working class and the poor in Michigan (less taxes and less government aid and all that bullshit, that you know, only keeps our state running so we're not as backwoods, as say, the shithole that is Mississippi)? But beyond their wishful thinking, was their total misread of the national electorate: "But the dangers of overreaching (the primary lesson of the from the first two years of Barack Obama's presidency) should be prominent in everyone's mind." Really? I mean, what the fuck, really? Obama overreached? On fucking what? If they're stupid enough to believe that had Obama and the Democrats passed a public option, told wall street to go fuck itself on bonuses, passed real immigration reform, passed a stimulus that actually had teeth and infrastructure improvements that created real jobs, that Democratic voters would have still stayed home, they have no business analyzing the hairs on my ass, let alone what lessons we learned from Obama's first two years. No--know what should really concern Snyder? The fact that a whopping 45% of registered voters turned out for this past week's midterms. What happens in 2012 when those numbers go back up to 60%--and the kids and the minorities and the liberals turn out again? That supermajority could (key word) shrink awfully fast. I will give the Free Press' Stephen Henderson credit for getting this right--the performance of the Michigan Democratic party was beyond brutal, and its Chairman, Mark Brewer, should be sent packing. The only thing Brewer deserves credit for is leading us to the worst ass-kicking in history--he pulled off the nearly impossible and led us to defeat in every major office in the entire fucking state! Well done, Mark (you fucking idiot)! Don't let the door hit you in the ass on your way out.... Peace, emaycee

Be Still My Beating Heart...Well, Almost

Kind of an interesting week in the Free Press.... Shock of all shocks, Stephen Henderson actually defends Obamanomics, and calls out the republicans for having no ideas and no strategy other than bitching for turning the economy around. And the Free Press editorial board follows it up later in the week with another piece calling out the republicans for having no credible alternative, other than tax cuts (for which there is no empirical evidence for strenghtening the economy). You might wonder why the Free Press has suddenly had a change of heart from their usual Kumbaya mantra, but methinks as the election gets closer and closer, we might see a lot more of this type of narrative: the base just may come home, if nothing else, out of abject fear. Along those same lines, Brian Dickerson finally puts his Princeton degree to good use while pointing out how worried CEOS are about new regulations that will require them to disclose the ratio between their compensation and that of their employees. Dickerson rightly points out that their fears are not that their employees won't fully understand, but will understand all too well how much they're getting fucked by their not so competent leadership. Pinch me, I must be dreaming.... Even old Nolan gets one right in discussing the great state of Michigan's problem with high school dropout rates. And actually proposes ideas that aren't your usual republican LSD trip taker on steroids rant. What the hell...give him a week, and he'll be back to his usual self, but I'll take the occasional surprise. But then there's this and you just have to say what the fuck? Ostensibly, the piece is the weekly business column "At Issue" which (sometimes) discusses various business and consumer issues and gives some sort of analysis featuring arguments from both sides. Apparently this week, that was more than Margaret Collins limited abilities could handle, as she attempted to discuss the upcoming expiration of the Bush tax cuts. In reality, the piece was nothing more than a financial advice column for the wealthiest of Americans (the 315,000 who make $1 million or more who will be affected by Obama's plan to let the cuts expire for those making more than $250k) on how to avoid paying such taxes. In typical business world tone deafness to those of us not fortunate enough to have the ability of carnival booth workers talent for swindling, she poses, as an example, that their increase in taxes will be the equivalent of a BMW Z4. A fucking Beemer! Now that's the way to gain empathy for those wealthy folks--use the price of a car that is more than most people make in a year as an example! And trouble is, there are people stupid enough to fall for this bullshit. Not me--and for those complaing about how much this expiration is going to hurt those poor folks, well, hell, I'll gladly trade salaries for a year with any person making such and happily pay the price of a beemer more in taxes.... In the immortal words of the Wicked Witch as she melted, "What a world, what a world...." Peace, emaycee

My oh my, why oh why

This piece is another of those lame-ass pieces that appear all too frequently in the Free Press. You would think by now I would take them with a grain of salt.... Think again. This whole idea that somehow, by some miracle, if we'd all just sing fucking "Kumbaya" together the country would be a lot better off is misguided at best, and delusional at worst. The legislation that has helped the American people most (think Social Security, Medicare, Civil Rights Act of 1964) were not largely bipartisan efforts, but bold ideas strong-armed through by courageous leaders. Bipartisanhip is a code word for wishy-washy people who are more than happy to accept mediocrity (see also, Healthcare reform 2010) and the status quo (see also, Financial reform 2010). Far too much goddamned time is spent trying to appease centrists and acquiesing to Republican proposals (even though they don't vote for the mother fuckers). The majority of the American people voted for Democrats with Democratic principles and to enact those principles. If they turn out to be piss-poor, Republicans get another shot. Besides, as noted by Digby, what bipartisanship means to most people is that the other side should give in to their demands. Two words: fuck that. Don't believe me? How do you think the majority of Americans would answer this question: Would you rather have a good bill that was entirely partisan, or a bad bill that was bipartisan? Case closed. Newt Gingrich? I mean the Newt fucking Gingrich? If he's the best the Republicans have to offer, they're an even more pathetic group than I had thought. Forget the resignation amidst scandal, forget his role in the impeachment of Clinton while he's schtupping a woman not his wife, but this: the guy asks his wife for a divorce while she's in the hospital being treated for cancer. Think about that...if he's willing to treat his wife, the mother of his children, that callously, do you think for a minute that he's going to give two shits about you? Puhlease! Gingrich is another Republican loser bankrolled by Corporate America and the wealthy whose only interest is his (their) own. No surprise that a pinhead like Finley would be enamored of Gingrich's failed ideas, but the Detroit Regional Chamber? While I realize that the Chamber (despite its trying to appear as such) isn't exactly a bipartisan organization (its motto would probably be "goverment of the corporation, by the corporation, for the corporation") but you'd think they could do a little better than a second-rate ideologue. I'm not a statitician, but these numbers don't make much sense. Forty percent of Michigan voters back the Tea Party, but 36% say the Democratic Party best reflects their values, 24% Republican, and 17% the Tea Party. Methinks--as with much of the Tea Party coverage--the headline is overhyped and the poll questions piss poor. It's the Free Press--I'm shocked, shocked I tell you.... Peace, emaycee