Plutocrats for Change

The Joanne Voorhees story is the perfect summation of how small minded the local GOP can be. Telling Jon Huntsman he's not conservative enough for West Michigan makes me wonder how they can go about their daily lives without constantly being exposed to the dreaded Liberalism

Anyhow, the lightning speed with with the state GOP was able to to get Betsy DeVos to sponsor a substitute soiree for Huntsman shows how plutocrat Republicans can be counted on to stick together. Ms. DeVos is the daughter of billionaire Edgar Prince and the wife of the son of Billionaire Rich DeVos (and don't forget, the sister of Blackwater founder Eric Prince).

Jon Huntsman is the son of Utah Billionaire Jon Huntsman Sr. - so of course he felt right at home with the DeVos's (who hosted him at their own hotel, the ultra-deluxe JR Marriott in Grand Rapids. Ohmigod - the Marriotts are from Utah too! (Probably billionaires).

A splendid time was had by all. Sorry Joanne.

Shut Down the WEMET

The Press has a decent piece of investigative reporting on the front page today that can only lead to one conclusion: The West Michigan Enforcement Team (WEMET) should be disbanded and the officers reassigned.

What does this outfit do? They overwhelmingly go after low level pot dealers by making pathetically small $50 "buys" based on tips and then stage a big bust where they net small quantities of drugs, some cash and sometimes guns. The scorecard for 2008 tells the story:

Marijuana: 639 lbs
Coke: 12.4 lbs
Crack: 44 oz
Heroin: 22 oz
Meth: 6.5 of
Guns: 100

That's it for 25 officers and a half-million $ annual budget. The fact that the most dangerous drug (Meth) is at the bottom of the list shows how lame this effort is. They are busting part-time pot dealers and growers - and ignoring the drug that is brutally addictive, dangerous, toxic and pervasive in rural Michigan. The haul of guns is largely meaningless since you can walk into practically any home in Michigan and find guns (and probably a small amount of pot as well).

If the State Police don't have anything better to do with 25 officers and a half million dollars, they should give the money back. This is a joke.

Fred Barnes Doesn't Get It

This is not specifically a Michigan issue, but then again it is, because health care reform may be the most important legacy the Obama Administration can leave the country (which includes us)

Anyhow, Fred Barnes at the increasingly lame Weekly Standard is calling the GOP to the trenches to defeat "Obamacare". He's feeling good because the GOP has pretty much de-railed EFCA and the Democrats don't seem to have the balls to deal with global warming. The next liberal monster, of course, is health care. So what does old Fred drag out as a reason to continue denying coverage to 40 million Americans: Canada kills celebrities.

I'm not kidding:

It's worth noting how Canadian health care failed to save the life of actress Natasha Richardson after a recent ski accident. The nearby hospital had no scanning equipment or neurosurgeon, and there was no helicopter to fly her to a trauma center. By the time she arrived at one, she was brain dead. Why wasn't proper treatment and equipment at hand? Government had decided not to pay for them.

Oh my god. In Canada, they don't provide helicopters for celebrities who fall down during their ski holidays. So Fred, tell me again about all the helicopters waiting in the U.S. for poor people to get to the hospital. Oh, you mean there aren't any? They're all out in Colorado waiting for celebrities to fall down?

Dear Tom: Your Theories Don't Work

From a recent e-mail from my State Representative Tom Pierce:

What if government leaders looked at the economic crisis differently and reduced the tax on all job providers, making Michigan the most competitive state in our region or even all fifty states? If they did, I believe the State of Michigan would be saying to all job providers interested in starting a new company or growing their business that Michigan welcomes them with open arms. Reducing the tax burden on job providers would enable them to grow and hire additional employees, resulting in greater income tax revenue to the state. It would also generate economic activity in Michigan creating greater revenue from sales tax. A change like this could turn job losses into job growth and reduce the pressure of growing demand on the state's welfare budget. Making Michigan business taxes more competitive across the board would level the playing field for all job providers and would remove government arrogance in picking winners and losers.

Dear Tom;

I think your analysis of the benefits of tax reductions to attract business is deeply flawed and I'd like to see some facts and data that backs it up. John Engler cut taxes for years and all it did was drain the state government of money it needed to provide the services people expect. Engler's policies did not attract new businesses and did next to nothing to stop the major manufacturers from leaving.

I am a small business owner and I can say from experience that state tax rates have absolutely zero impact on my business decisions. The decline in state services ranging from university and K12 budgets to deteriorating infrastructure, dilapidated parks, overwhelmed social service providers are far more important to me - and the only way to pay for them is adequate taxation.

The idea that lower taxes generate economic growth and higher revenue is a pipe dream that has no support in the economic data. It's a belief not a theory. If you can provide impartial data that backs it up, I'd be happy to reconsider.

Best regards,

- Snipe

Guns & Ammo

Since Barak Obama's election, the gun business in the U.S. has been going crazy. As described in a recent article in the Press, applications for concealed weapons permits have doubled in 2009. Ammunition is in short supply because people are buying and hoarding it. An NPR story told about a 69 year old woman buying a case of ammo for her AK-47.

The story being floated by the conservative media is that Obama is going to take away people's guns - so you better arm yourself now. A second meme is that the recession is making the country more dangerous so you'd better start packing before the poor people come after your stuff.

Both of these lines share a hideous fear of the other, particuarly if the other is urban and black. This is scary shit and shows how some hard core conservatives are reacting to the loss of an election. There are way too many crazy people out there - and now they are armed.

GR Press goes 1 for 2

I was impressed that the Press came out with a positive editorial Saturday about the new Medical Marijuana rules. Instead of trashing the decision made by Michigan voters to legalize MM, the Press took the progressive tack of how can you legalize use while procurement is still illegal?

I wrote letters to the Press's Editor and Publisher about the sad and tragic Dave Mayo situation and received well thought out responses that showed they understand the absurdity of the current laws. The idea that a respected journalist and his wife can be looking at serious jail time for growing weed is a clear example of the stupidity that has captured this issue for the last 30 years. The shooting of a Grand Valley State student in his apartment by a Sheriff's posse because maybe he was dealing pot takes the situation to its absurd extreme.

Something has got to change - and people are finally talking about it like rational adults for the first time in decades.

So the Press got one thumbs up but then gave it back on Sunday with a classic West Michigan union-bashing piece of crap editorial about the pending EFCA legislation. The Press ladles out the conservative argument that card check union organizing takes away the precious secret ballot and is therefore no good.

First off, its a lie. There can be a secret ballot if the employees want one. The big change is that it is the workers who get to decide, not the employers. The coercion employed by employers against union organizers over the past 20 years has been rampant and its time to level the playing field. The wretched excess of corporate executives is painfully obvious. We nee more unionization, not less, and the Press has it wrong.