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Monday, June 23, 2008
The tax shift
Also see the message (#13775) over at the Grand Rapids mlive.com forum:
http://www.mlive.com/forums/grandrapids/index.ssf
Jim Stover, Plainfield Township Treasurer, writes in the current issue of Plainfield Township's newsletter:
The Profile
volume XXXIII number 3 July 2008
County tax shift...
The last shift of Kent County operating taxes (collected 6 months EARLY, now all collected in the summer bill) happened in 2007. Starting with 2008 there will not be any increase in your tax bill due to the shift of the County Operating Tax (...the early collection, because it is all collected early now). There is some legislation in the works to shift the jail and senior taxes (collect them EARLY too) from the weinter to the summer bill.
===
Do you remember when the winter and summer bills were approximately equal and were not so big. Now the summer bill is double of what the winter tax is and will be larger still if they are allowed to collect more of the winter taxes SIX MONTHS EARLY in the summer bill. Somehow, the winter bill has not shrunk that much even with the early collection of the country tax in the summer. We are seeing the incrimental tax creep upward, truly a death by a thousand cuts.
Lets identify the legislators involved in this pushing this horse manure and convince them that it will be their last legislative post if they push more early tax collections
Who was involved in the previous "midnight vote" opening the gates for the tax shift over the previous three years? Doug Hart (Mi-73) was my Representative in September 2004 when they grew a big brass pair and passed the county tax increase/shift. Tom Pearce (Mi-73) is my rep now because Hart was a coward and decided not to run again. I leafleted Hart's neighborhood about the tax increase/shift and threatened to do the same for Sikkema and a few others that participated in this crap. A staffer from Senator Sikkemas office tried to talk me down... State Rep. Sak (D) called me personally to talk, right from the chamber floor... to change MY mind, not to have me change theirs! It did not work!
Here are links to pages with the names of the dirty curs... When you look at the numbers of republicnas and Democrats, remember this was a republican controlled legislature and the numbers look very similar to the numbers of Republican and Democrats that passed amnesty (S.2611) in the US Senate. Do you wonder where the US Senate RINOs come from? I bet this is mirrored all over the country.
Lots of very familiar names, some up for re-election, some of whom have moved to from house to senate and others to other elected positions...
WARNING to TAXERS. I will publish your names once agains as in the lists above. Can you take the heat?
Taxes collected EARLY are TAX INCREASES!
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Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Health Care Myths
Source: Lt. James “EMO” Tichacek, USN (Ret)
Director, Retiree Assistance Office, U.S. Embassy Warden & IRS VITA Baguio City, RP
http://post_119_gulfport_ms.tripod.com/rao1.html
Health Care Myths: Fictions don't become facts through repetition. Keep that in mind next time you hear a politician breathlessly decry the horrors of the American health-care system and then explain how he/she intends to fix it. Some of the most popular talking points in the health-care debate pass as the gospel truth simply because, well, they're popular - not because they're true. Granted, statistics and surveys can substantiate most anything you want them to just by the way you ask the question or collect the information. However, the following five items you should take with a grain of salt the next time they are discussed:
Myth (1) Forty-seven million Americans do not have health insurance. This figure comes from the U.S. Census Bureau. What most people don't know, however, is that the Bureau counts anyone who went without health insurance during any part of the previous year as "uninsured." So if you weren't covered for just one day in 2007, you're one of the 47 million. That also includes 10.2 million illegal immigrants, and about 14 million people who are eligible for public health-care programs like Medicaid or the State Children's Health Insurance Program but have yet to enroll. And nearly 10 million of the uninsured have household incomes of more than $75,000 - so they can probably afford to buy health insurance but choose not to.
Myth (2) Universal health-care coverage can be achieved via "individual mandate." According to the federal census, nearly two-thirds of the uninsured are aged 18 to 34. This makes sense - healthy people aren't going to pay for expensive insurance they'll never use. Those who support an "individual mandate" believe by legally requiring all Americans to buy health insurance the young and the healthy will increase the size of the risk pool and therefore lower premiums for everyone. As a way to enforce an individual mandate, some suggest garnishing wages. But many states require insurers to charge everyone the same rate. So, young people would end up paying far more in premiums than they should - or could - pay. It's patently unfair to force people to purchase insurance they can't afford. Even in Massachusetts, which offers substantial premium subsidies for low-income residents, the government had to exempt a fifth of Bay Staters from the individual mandate because insurance was still so expensive. And, the plan is already $147 million over budget. The real way to attract young adults into the insurance market is to lower premiums - not to impose draconian sanctions.
Myth (3) Expensive prescription drugs are a big reason health-care costs increase. The real price of prescription drugs is actually decreasing. In 2007, inflation rose more than 4%, while drug prices increased just 1%. So in real terms, drugs were 3% cheaper last year than in 2006, on average. What's more, drug spending is but a small slice of total health-care spending - less than 11 cents out of every health-care dollar goes to prescription meds. And drugs actually reduce health-care costs in the long-term. Medicare, for instance, saves $2.06 for every additional dollar it spends on pharmaceutical drugs, according to a paper recently published by the National Bureau for Economic Research. Prescription drugs often obviate the need for expensive surgeries and hospital stays.
Myth (4) Drug importation will save patients a fortune. At most, according to the Congressional Budget Office, foreign drug importation would save Americans 1% over the next decade. Brand-name drugs are cheaper in foreign countries because their governments impose price controls. Drug-makers can only afford to sell pills at cut-rate, controlled prices in Europe and Canada because Americans pay full price. If American politicians allow foreign drugs to enter the U.S. market, they'll in effect import price controls too. Such action will not only create practical problems, like shortages but also deny firms the return on investment necessary to plunge into the next round of research and development into new cures. It takes nearly $1 billion to bring a new drug to market. Investors are willing to make such a risky investment because the rewards of developing a cure for Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, AIDS or diabetes are considerable. If the profit motive vanishes, the miracle cures for which America's drug industry is responsible would vanish.
Myth (5) The state-run health-care systems in Canada and Europe are better and cheaper than America's. Those who make this claim usually note that life expectancy is higher in Canada and Europe. But life expectancy is influenced by a number of variables aside from the quality of a country's health-care system - like diet, genetics, exercise, smoking, pollution and even marital status. A study published last year in the British medical journal the Lancet suggests America is much better at treating cancer than Europe or Canada. Researchers found Americans have a better survival rate for 13 of the 16 most prominent cancers. An American man has nearly a20 % better chance of living for five years after being diagnosed with cancer than his European counterpart. This study's findings tell us a lot more about the quality of a health-care system than life expectancy rates do, because the relationship between treatment and outcomes is tighter, clearer and more direct. [Source: Washington Times 21 Mar 08 ++]
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Thursday, March 20, 2008
The National Do-Not-Call Registry
National Do Not Call Registry
Have you wondered about the expiration date and where to re-register? Go to the link below for more information.
Your registration will not expire. The Federal Trade
Commission will not drop any telephone numbers from the National Do Not
Call Registry based on a five-year expiration period pending final
Congressional or agency action on whether to make registration
permanent. Read more about it at http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2007/10/dnctestimony.shtm.
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Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Property values down, taxes UP
Michigan Congressman Tom Pearce (73-Rep) replies to an email I sent on the subject:
James, below is an editorial explanation, from the February 21 Lansing State Journal, that I think does a good job of describing the current property tax situation most people find themselves in. I do think it is important to note that if you look at your tax bills you will find that the taxable value on your home has yet to reach the assessed value -- this is due to Proposal A, which the citizens of Michigan put in place back in 1994.
I believe the crafters of Proposal A never envisioned the kind of downturn we are currently experiencing in the state. For this reason, I do believe a fix needs to be put in place and I am supporting a bill that would make one change to Proposal A. The bill, states that if the assessed value of your home drops, then the taxable value of your home would be frozen, rather than be allowed to increase by either 5 percent or the cost of living, whichever is less.
Looking Forward and Up,
Representative Tom Pearce
73rd House District
_____
Prop A driving tax bills
State law allows property taxes to rise as values dip
Maria L. Irish is the City of Lansing's Assessor
It is that time again for Lansing homeowners to receive their 2008 Assessment Change -- the annual statement of your home's assessed value and taxable value.
These two numbers -- taxable value and assessed value -- can be confusing. The taxable value is the amount we use to calculate your property taxes. The assessed value (also known as the SEV ) represents one-half of your home's market value. Depending on how long you have owned your home, there can be a big difference between these two numbers. For many Lansing homeowners, the assessed value of their home is lower than last year's. This is due to the weak state of Michigan 's economy and a soft real estate market. Yet for many homeowners, the taxable value of their home has increased over last year.
How can this happen? If the market value of your home is less, shouldn't your property taxes also be less?
The answer is: not necessarily. The reason is found in the state law known as Proposal A, which was approved by Michigan voters in 1994.
Proposal A limits the annual increase in your taxable value to 5 percent or the rate of inflation, whichever is less, adjusted for losses (demolition, for example) and any additions (such as new construction).
The assessed value of your home is not affected by Proposal A. Therefore, even if the assessed value of your home is less than last year, your property taxes can still go up because the taxable value -- the number used to calculate your property taxes -- increased due to Proposal A.
This concept can be difficult to explain, so let me use an example:
Jack Anderson bought a home 10 years ago for $50,000 on Lansing 's east side. The market value of his house has since increased to $100,000, which means the assessed value has increased from $25,000 10 years ago to $50,000 today.
Yet the taxable value of Jack's home this year is only $35,000. This is because the increase in the taxable value of his home did not increase at the same rate as the assessed value. It was limited each year by Proposal A, while the assed value was not limited.
Unfortunately, the market value of Jack's home this year dropped to $90,000 due to the soft real estate market. Therefore, the assessed value declined to $45,000. So, why didn't Jack's property tax bill go down?
Answer: Because the taxable value of his home increased due to the requirements of Proposal A. As long as the taxable value remains below the assessed value, the taxable value on Jack's home can and will increase each year by the amount required under Proposal A.
This explains how your property taxes can increase, even when the market value of your home is declining. However, when the property is sold, the taxable value is "uncapped" and once again becomes equal to the assessed value.
But that is a topic for another column.
_____
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Sunday, March 16, 2008
Property Taxes go up as actual value goes down
So even though property values are in a downward spiral, I get a tax INCREASE!
We need some legislation to protect us from the bureaucrats that operate the segment of government that can tax us out of our homes.
There is something fundamentally wrong with an increase in taxes against a loss of value in a plummeting real estate market.
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Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Contact your congressman to vote on the SAVE act!
We need to have everyone contact their congressman's local office to demand that the discharge petition for the SAVE act (HR 4088) be signed.
Here is a link to the SAVE Act:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/C?c110:./temp/~c110SZaVOF
If needed I have a locally cached copy of it.
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Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Spitzer Prostitution Scandal: NY Gov Admits Links To Sex Ring
From the Huffington Post comes this report:
Spitzer Prostitution Scandal: NY Gov Admits Links To Sex Ring
March 10, 2008 02:10 PM
"Gov. Eliot Spitzer has been caught on a federal wiretap arranging to meet with a high-priced prostitute at a Washington hotel last month, according to a person briefed on the federal investigation," the New York Times reports in a blockbuster revelation.
More from the NYT:
The wiretap recording, made during an investigation of a prostitution ring called Emperors Club VIP, captured a man identified as Client 9 on a telephone call confirming plans to have a woman travel from New York to Washington, where he had reserved a room. The person briefed on the case identified Mr. Spitzer as Client 9.
The governor learned that he had been implicated in the prostitution probe when a federal official contacted his staff last Friday, according to the person briefed on the case.The governor informed his top aides Sunday night and this morning of his involvement. He canceled his public events today and scheduled an announcement for this afternoon after inquiries from the Times.
The governor's aides appeared shaken, and one of them began to weep as they waited for him to make his statement at his Manhattan office. Mr. Spitzer was seen leaving his Fifth Avenue apartment just before 3 p.m. with his wife of 21 years, Silda, heading to the news conference.
The man described as Client 9 in court papers arranged to meet with a prostitute who was part of the ring, Emperors Club VIP, on the night of Feb. 13. Mr. Spitzer traveled to Washington that evening, according to a person told of his travel arrangements.
The affidavit says that Client 9 met with the woman in hotel room 871 but does not identify the hotel. Mr. Spitzer stayed at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington on Feb. 13, according to a source who was told of his travel arrangements. Room 871 at the Mayflower Hotel that evening was registered under the another name.
Read the alleged conversations between Spitzer and the prostitute here.
Report: Spitzer Indicted, Will Resign: New York's CBS 2 reports that "Spitzer was not expected to continue as governor and may resign by Monday evening ... Lt. Gov. David Paterson could be sworn in as governor as early as 7 p.m. Monday."
New York State Assembly Republican Minority Leader James Tedisco has already called for Spitzer to resign.
Spitzer Responds: Spitzer today made a brief public appearance during which he apologized for his behavior, and described it as a "private matter."
"I have acted in a way that violates my obligation to my family and violates my or any sense of right or wrong," said Mr. Spitzer, who appeared with his wife Silda at his Manhattan office. "I apologize first and most importantly to my family. I apologize to the public to whom I promised better."
"I have disappointed and failed to live up to the standard I expected of myself. I must now dedicate some time to regain the trust of my family."Before speaking, Mr. Spitzer stood with his arm around his wife; the two nodded and then strode forward together to face more than 100 reporters. Both had glassy, tear-filled eyes, but they did not cry.
The governor spoke for perhaps a minute and did not address his political future. He declined to take questions and promised to report back soon. As he went to leave, three reporters screamed out, "Are you resigning? Are you resigning?", and Mr. Spitzer charged out of the room, slamming the door.
Democrats are quietly distancing themselves while setting up the spin machine to say that what Spitzer did is nothing wrong, even while he was prosecuting others for the same things.
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Sunday, January 27, 2008
Michigan SOS Terri Lynn Land says NO...
...to illegal alien drivers licenses after the Michigan Attorney
General, Mike Cox, 
issued an opinion making them illegal. Before that, the SOS office had
said that they would continue issuing licenses to illegals until ordered
to stop by legislative action or otherwise. She had been issuing them
(note 1) under the auspices and opinions of Democrat Attorney General
Frank Kelley [1961-1999]. This was continued as law through the
stewardship of the AG office by Jennifer Granholm [1999-2002] and passed
on to Mike Cox, the present day AG. It only took Mike 5 years to get a
Round Tuit. This should ease the minds of people that assume Michigan is
a sanctuary state.
NO MICHIGAN DRIVER'S LICENSES FOR ILLEGALS!
We're sending out a special 'thank you' to Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land for saying 'NO' to issuing driver's licenses to illegal aliens. First-time applicants for a Michigan driver's license or identification card [note 2] must now prove that they have established a permanent legal presence in the United States. Secretary Land's push to enhance driver's license security can move forward now that a recent opinion from Attorney General Mike Cox ruled the policy constitutional. Land encouraged customers to make sure they have the documents necessary to complete their applications before going to a branch office.
For more information on Secretary Land's initiative click here: Secretary Land Promotes Border, Document Security.
note 1: ...as had her predecessors Candy Miller [1995-2003] and Richard Austin [1971-1994].
note 2: This allows illegal aliens that have previously obtained a Michigan Drivers License to continue renewing it. Also it does not address voting by illegals that presently have Michigan Drivers Licenses previously authorized by Frank Kelley. I get the feeling that someone at the state level hopes we will not notice this.
===
Thank you Terri for finally getting in the game to help stop illegal alien criminals from obtaining a form of ID to legitimize their presence here.
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Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Federal Department of Toilets & Light Bulbs
Cross posted from The Loft - gopusa.com
Posted By Chuck Muth
How many congressmen does it take to change a light bulb? 400.
That’s how many members of Congress recently voted for a bill to force Americans to change the 50-cent incandescent light bulbs they’re currently using and replace them with expensive new, $3 “energy-efficient” light bulbs. As Shane Cory of the Libertarian Party sarcastically put it, "If you outlaw light bulbs, then only outlaws will have light bulbs.”
The ban, which takes effect in 2014, was included in the 2007 energy bill which 314 members of the United States House of Representatives and 86 members of the United States Senate voted for.
Nevada Sen. Harry Reid said he thought the light bulb ban was an appropriate exercise of federal power. Interesting company Reid’s keeping. Because when the bill was originally introduced by California Rep. Jane Harman last March, CNS News reported that two other countries had already taken similar steps to eradicate inexpensive incandescent light bulbs from the planet: Fidel Castro’s Cuba and Hugo Chavez’s Venezuela.
And make no mistake. Congress has no intention of stopping here. Still under active consideration is a new federal ban on top-loading washing machines, as well as a federal ban on disposable diapers. Seems some of our elected officials won’t be satisfied until we’re again washing out our cloth diapers on rocks by a steam in the pitch dark.
[Note: I wish that these authors would include a few details like the H.R. number so that the rest of us could go look up what else might have also been included in this ban on incandescent light. I like to be able to cite a source on something like this.]
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Friday, December 28, 2007
Michigan AG Cox on illegal alien drivers licenses
Mich. AG: Only legal residents can drive
By DAVID EGGERT AP Writer
LANSING, Mich.—Illegal immigrants are ineligible for driver's licenses, Michigan's attorney general said Thursday in an opinion that affects one of the few states that have been granting licenses to undocumented residents.
Attorney General Mike Cox's opinion is legally binding on state agencies and officers unless reversed by the courts. It was not immediately known how soon any changes would take place or what the opinion means for illegal immigrants with currently valid licenses.
Michigan law prohibits the secretary of state from issuing a driver's license to a nonresident. Cox, a Republican, said it would be inconsistent with federal law to regard an illegal immigrant as a permanent resident in Michigan.
The opinion supersedes a 1995 opinion by former Democratic Attorney General Frank Kelley.
Kelley suggested that denying a driver's license to an illegal immigrant might violate the U.S. Constitution's equal protection clause, according to Cox. But Cox said "there can be no doubt that a rational basis exists for denying driver's licenses to illegal aliens."
Cox cited national security concerns, but the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan contends his opinion could actually make the state less secure.
"It drives them further underground," ACLU executive director Kary Moss said of illegal immigrants. "If they have licenses, then the state knows about them and has information about them..." [Ahhh but you are wrong. The state doesn't have any info on their legal status as illegal aliens with the issuance of a drivers license. Giving them licenses gives them legal standing for services and priveleges they are not entitled to receive.]
===
My quest to get something done about the issuance of drivers licenses to illegals in Michigan finally bore fruit this week. It finally gained a critical mass.
But I find it inexplicable why the Michigan Attorney general waited until now to finally issue an opinion concerning the issue of drivers licenses to illegals. This week he openly made it official. He says that Michigan will NOT issue illegal aliens drivers licenses. How to verify and track this is the next question. Also the opinion is law until the ACLU or another communist organization challenges it in court and gets a sympathetic commie judge to rule their way. Illegals are still being issued licenses elswhere, so a license from there would have to be questioned as a possible fraud. The rub is that many states also use the drivers license as the prime ID for all sorts of other services and to register to vote. Since the Motor-Voter act was passed in Michigan and other states, the possibility of vote fraud is enormous. The Democrat leadership (along with La Raza, AFL-CIO, MoveOnKoSoros, US Chamber of Commerce, miscellaneous other appeasers and traitors, and the Bush Cartel) seek easy voter registration to allow illegals to vote. Money and Power! It is all tied to amnesty and converting illegals into legal residents.
Here are some links to read on the subject of drivers licenses for illegals:
http://www. rogueriver.tzo.com /NoAmnesty/ archives/2007/ 11/entry_168.html
http://www. worldnetdaily. com/news/ article.asp? ARTICLE_ID =34640
http://www. eagleforum. org/column/ 2005/apr05/ 05-04-20.html
http://atlanta. creativeloafing. com/gyrobase/ Content?oid=oid %3A7840
http://www. newszapforums. com/forum 222/48146. html
Pete Roskam [IL-6] said "Issuing driver’s licenses to illegals allows states to subvert federal immigration laws."
He is right. We already know that there are sanctuary cities and defacto sanctuary states such as California that are actively subverting immigration laws with the blessing of the Bush Cartel in Washington D.C.
If that doesnt satisfy your urge to read on the subject, google "drivers licenses for illegal aliens". You will find approximately 920,000 hits to read.
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Saturday, November 17, 2007
A conviction in the Fort Dix Six case
From the ICE web page comes a news release of the conviction of one of the Fort Dix Six for a weapons violation. He was supplying the guns that would have been used to kill US Soldiers.
Abdullahu admits supplying guns and ammunition to illegal aliens involved in plot to attack Fort Dix
CAMDEN, N.J. - Agron Abdullahu pleaded guilty today to conspiring to provide firearms and ammunition to illegal aliens who allegedly plotted to kill U.S. soldiers at various installations, including the Fort Dix Army base in New Jersey, U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie announced.Abdullahu was arrested on May 7, 2007, along with five others - three of them brothers - and charged in an alleged plot to kill as many soldiers as possible. At that time, Abdullahu was charged with aiding and abetting the illegal possession of firearms by illegal aliens.
At his plea hearing, Abdullahu admitted that from Jan. 3, 2006, to May 7, 2007, he and Serdar Tatar, 23, of Philadelphia, provided firearms to brothers Eljvir Duka, 24, Dritan Duka, 28, and Shain Duka, 26, who Abdullahu knew were illegal aliens. (All of the Duka brothers are from Cherry Hill, N.J.)
The charge Abdullahu pleaded guilty to is a criminal immigration violation that is enforced by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). "The guilty plea in this case is very gratifying, and a testament to the close cooperation between all of the federal and state and local law enforcement agencies involved in this investigation," said John P. Kellegan, special agent in charge of the ICE office of investigations in Philadelphia.
Abdullahu admitted that on at least two occasions he provided the Dukas and others with firearms and ammunition for them to possess and use at a firing range in Gouldsboro, Pa. In January 2006, Abdullahu provided a Beretta pistol and the Yugoslavian semiautomatic rifle to the Dukas for their use at a firing range in Gouldsboro, he admitted. During the week of Jan. 3, 2006, while in Gouldsboro, Tartar provided the Dukas and others with his Beretta CX4 Storm 9-millimeter- caliber rifle and a newly purchased Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun for use at a firing range, Abdullahu admitted.
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Friday, November 02, 2007
The Turtle Fence in Michigan
History lesson: Dumbocrat Jenny Granholm coasts through 4 years as governor with deficits. In 2006 she conceals the fact and gets re-elected. In 2007 she suddenly decides that she has done a shitty job of governing Michigan since she has been unsuccessfull in forcing tax increases the first 4 years. The "Close Down Government" bludgeon used by Dumbocrats gets dusted off and hauled out. She doesnt realize that some of us feel that less government is a GOOD thing and a government not in session is a government that can do us no harm. Jenny says "I inherited a deficit". She just won the election as governor from.... Jennifer Granholm, so Jennifer Granholm left her a deficit to fix! Hmmmm....
Recently, Democrat Governor Jenny Granholm was willing to shut down the engine of state in Michigan to force tax increases on the citizens of Michigan. She got her 1.5 BILLION dollar increase in tax on income and services. Now she wants to spend tax money on a "TURTLE FENCE". Governor Granholm has adopted an "If it moves, tax it" policy to determine what will get slewered by the new services tax. Now she has 1.5 billion of new revenues to play politics with. Anyone who believes she will use it to lower the deficit when she can instead start new spending is very stupid or just gullible. Here is a letter from Congressman Pete Hoekstra.
Hoekstra Releases Letter to Governor Granholm on Turtle Fence
Washington, Oct 24 -
U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Holland, released the following letter mailed to Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm about the turtle fence under construction along U.S. 31 in Muskegon County:
Oct. 23, 2007
The Honorable Jennifer Granholm
Governor
The State of Michigan
P.O. Box 30013
Lansing, MI 48909
Dear Governor Granholm:
In light of the fiscal crisis in which our state currently finds itself, and particularly after the massive tax increase adopted to fund state government, I am disturbed by the Michigan Department of Transportation choosing to spend $318,000 in taxpayer dollars for construction of a 4-foot-tall fence to protect turtles.
The fence will run along a stretch of highway that lies in the congressional district I represent, and despite my being aware of the remedy the fence seeks to provide, I am alarmed at the lack of prioritization demonstrated by this allocation of funding.
It is not the concept of the project, rather it is the message sent by the state that concerns me. By passing a massive tax increase, I believe that Lansing has asked the citizens of Michigan to sacrifice without first holding itself accountable and challenging itself to exercise some degree of creativity with the state’s budget. By spending $318,000 dollars on a fence to protect turtles, the citizens have effectively been told that Lansing is indifferent to their sacrifice.
At a time of such limited resources, I believe that MDOT should prioritize the allocation of federal dollars on projects that impact the movement of people or commercial products, rather than spend money on projects that make sense when times are good.
Thus, I am writing to request that you convene a working group to study how the State can better allocate funds from its budget. I am willing to volunteer my time and effort to help determine how to more effectively spend federal dollars coming into the state, and I believe others would be prepared to do the same.
As you know, approximately one-third of Michigan’s budget comes from federal funding. Yet, at no time have I nor any of my federal counterparts – to my knowledge – been approached about providing greater flexibility with the allocation of federal dollars. Cooperation amongst all parties who care about Michigan is critical in a state whose unemployment rate is 63 percent above the national average.
I have begun exploring options available – including introducing legislation – to provide states in dire straits, like Michigan, with the flexibility to help residents and businesses rebound. In fact, I fully support relaxing the restrictions placed on federal funds if Lansing bureaucrats would demonstrate some sensibility in prioritizing the state’s fiscal situation.
We must examine every opportunity to determine how we can help the Michigan economy bounce back.
I look forward to your response and cooperation.
Sincerely,
Pete Hoekstra
Member of Congress
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Saturday, October 27, 2007
Condi institutes diplomat draft at State Department
US to order diplomats to serve in Iraq
Condi uses "the draft" to fill diplomatic posts in Iraq
Cross posted from YAHOO! News - No permalink as Yahoo links are crapola.
By MATTHEW LEE, AP
WASHINGTON - In the largest call-up of U.S. diplomats since the Vietnam War, the State Department is planning to order some of its personnel to serve at the American Embassy in Iraq because of a lack of volunteers. [note: If you are part of the diplomatic corp and on Condi's shit list, guess where your next posting is!]
Those designated "prime candidates" — from 200 to 300 diplomats — will be notified Monday that they have been selected for one-year postings to fill the 40 to 50 vacancies expected next year.
They will have 10 days to accept or reject the position. If not enough say yes, some will be ordered to go to Iraq and face dismissal if they refuse, Harry Thomas, director general of the Foreign Service, said Friday.
"Starting Nov. 12, our assignments panel will assign people to Iraq," Thomas told reporters in a conference call. "Under our system, we have all taken an oath to serve our country, we have all signed (up for) worldwide availability.
"If someone decides ... they do not want to go, we will then consider appropriate action," he said. "We have many options, including dismissal from the Foreign Service."
Only those with compelling reasons, such as a medical condition or extreme personal hardship, will be exempt from disciplinary action, Thomas said. He said the process of deciding who will go to Iraq should be complete by Thanksgiving.
Diplomats who are forced into service in Iraq will receive the same extra hardship pay, vacation time and choice of future assignments as those who have volunteered since Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice this past summer ordered Baghdad positions to be filled before all others around the world.
About 200 Foreign Service officers work in Iraq.
It is certain to be unpopular due to serious security concerns in Iraq and uncertainty over the status of the private contractors who protect U.S. diplomats there, particularly after a deadly Sept. 16 shooting in which guards from Blackwater USA protecting an embassy convoy were accused of killing 17 Iraqi civilians.
[note: Blackwater states with some pride that they have never lost a diplomat under their care to hostile fire. Now that Blackwater is under fire from those that they protect, is it time to let a few catch a bullet? How about if the private security is eliminated or made subservient to the military? That is what worries the draftees being coercively posted to Iraq. They currently have the BEST security in the world and it is under attack. Allies, agents, shills, and K Street Flacks of terrorist front countries in the US House and Senate are busy trying to take Blackwater down. The lace panty crowd in DC are trying to get people killed in a war zone. The enemy has recruited women and children to front for them and often uses them as shields while firing on our troops. When fire is returned, an enemy Al Jazeera agent films it for the US socialist MSM to trumpet.]
Iraq is an extremely dangerous hardship post with near daily insurgent mortar attacks on the fortified Green Zone where the embassy is located.
The U.S. military has quietly but repeatedly complained that its forces and other Defense Department personnel have been pressed into service in jobs that should have been filled by State Department personnel.
In particular, Defense Department employees and service members were forced to fill spots on provincial reconstruction teams for months because the State Department could not get personnel there.
Military officials have complained that other federal agencies — including State, Commerce and Agriculture — aren't moving quickly enough to fill critical needs in Iraq. Those agencies, they argue, have the expertise to help Iraqi business people and farmers get back to their jobs and improve the economy.
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Friday, October 05, 2007
WSJ Opinion Journal: Michigan's Benedict Arnolds
Received via email, no permalink
Also see MichiganRecalls.com
Michigan's Benedict Arnolds
by Stephen Moore
Michigan's Sunny Afternoon of the Long Knives
Michigan Republicans and the state's leading taxpayer group are seeking revenge against the "turncoats" in the GOP who voted for what is being called the $1.7 billion "Granholm revenue grab" last Monday.
Party officials I talked to this week said there's "a movement afoot to get the pro-tax Republicans recalled." "We're not discouraging it; we wouldn't mind ousting them from the legislature and the party," one GOP official told me.
Democrats were stalemated on the tax hike without key Republican defections. The state Senate in Lansing is controlled by Republicans, but three Republicans crossed over to provide the margin of victory. They were Ron Jelinek, Valde Garcia and Wayne Kuipers. In the House, two Republicans voted for the income tax increase: Chris Ward and Ed Gaffney. This allowed swing-district Democrats a free "no" vote to inoculate them from attack.
The Michigan Taxpayers Alliance has already laid the groundwork for the recall effort. The group is working to collect signatures for the 2008 ballot and is already agitating in the districts of the defecting Republicans.
Michael LaFaive, the fiscal analyst at the Mackinac Center, a conservative think tank in Michigan, says: "Talk radio lines have been lit up ever since the early Monday morning vote was announced. People in Michigan are livid." He points to recent polling that found that two of three Michigan voters preferred spending cuts over tax hikes to close the budget gap.
There is a precedent for voter backlash against tax hikes in the Wolverine State. Back in 1983, a similar giant tax hike led to a recall effort against four state legislators, with two Senators getting ousted in 1984. This gave the majority in the Senate to the Republicans and lifted John Engler to the majority leader position, before he was elected governor.
What has voters so angry is a state economy that's already reeling from job flight and high taxes. Most voters aren't buying Governor Jennifer Granholm's line that the new taxes will pay for investments to make the state a "21st century knowledge-based economy." Michigan's 7.4% unemployment rate is the highest in the nation. The state ranks third in mortgage foreclosures. Says economist Gary Wolfram of Hillsdale College: "I suspect if we increase the minimum wage, establish a 6% tax on small businesses that provide services, and increase the income tax by 45%, we will be able to get the unemployment rate in Detroit over the 25% mark."
State legislative Republicans are trying to put the blame on Mrs. Granholm and the Democrats, but they privately concede that they would have prevailed over this largest tax increase in the country had they simply held their own caucus members. That means, and rightly so, the long knives are now out for pro-tax Republicans.
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Edited on: Saturday, November 10, 2007 6:21 PM EST
Categories: 2008 election info, Cross Posts (Yahoo, VDare, etc.), Eye on the Government, GOP (KCGOP, MiGOP, and National), Guest Editorial, TAXES
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Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Portrait of a Tax Hiker: Robert Dean
cross posted from RightMichigan.com
Portrait of a Tax Hiker: Robert Dean
"Basically, this entire package was delivered by Democrats." - Andy Dillon, Detroit News, October 2, 2007
by Nick - RightMichigan.com
With that in mind, this is the first in a series of looks at specific members of Dillon's tax hike caucus. The Democrats hold a 58-52 lead in the House. A shift of just four seats returns control to the Republicans, a caucus, for what it's worth, that held the line in impressive fashion against the Democrats' tax and spend gambit. According to Andy Dillon anyways.
Four seats is more than doable. A move to a common sense approach that protects jobs and Michigan families is doable. Just a matter of getting rid of a few bad apples. And since I'm a Grand Rapids guy we're going to start close to home where only 1,500 some odd votes can make all the difference in the world.
STATE REPRESENTATIVE ROBERT DEAN (D-GRAND RAPIDS)
Proving the old axiom that most men will tell you their bad intentions if you listen close enough, Grand Rapids Democrat Robert Dean had this to say to Grand Rapids WOOD TV 8 last August when he was merely a candidate for the House.
- TV8: "If elected, would you support an increase in income or other taxes to keep state government programs fully funded?"
- DEAN: "Absent of documented proof that we have exhausted all other alternatives for preserving our economic strength and/or balancing either budget I would not support raising income taxes."
He followed up that gem in February after the Governor's State of the State address telling the station that he fully supported her "bold plan." A bold plan, for the record, that included 17 new government programs and a billion dollars in new spending.
I'm not sure the good Representative ever got that documented proof that he was talking about but then again, he could just hold up a press release from the Governor's office claiming we'd cut to the bone and call it a day, couldn't he? He parsed his 2006 answer to include all the necessary assurances he isn't out to raise his constituents' taxes ("I would not support raising income taxes") but leaves the door open more than a crack.
And then, the first chance he got?
HB 5198, a bill to tax services to the tune of $613 million.
- Robert Dean votes YES.
HB 5194, a bill to raise the income tax on Michigan's working moms and dads by over $700 million.
- Robert Dean votes YES.
Oh, and about that documented proof that the state's exhausted all other alternatives... there's that pesky issue with MESSA, the health insurance arm of the MEA and an institution that literally lines the pockets of the Democrat special interest group with anywhere from $200-400 million a year that would otherwise stay in the state coffers... or the classroom.
The same night Dean voted to raise taxes by $1.35 BILLION he had a chance to vote on a MESSA kill, to help put Michigan's fiscal house in order and to strike a blow on behalf of teachers and students, not union big-wigs.
SB 418, a bill to save the state of Michigan $200-400 million a year by ending handouts to Democrat special interests at the MEA via MESSA.
- Robert Dean votes NO.
But hey, maybe I'm not giving him a fair shake. Maybe he's just an MEA stooge, not an all-purpose special interest lackey. Yeah... about that.
Dean co-sponsored HB 4044, the Trial Lawyer Enhancement Act, repealing Michigan's FDA defense law to unleash the ambulance chasers on Michigan's pharmaceutical industry, threatening 540 local companies with over 30,000 employees. Oh, not to mention the hundreds of cures and treatments they develop to save peoples' lives.
Of course, it isn't only the special interests Dean is out to protect. He also introduced HB 4580, a bill guaranteeing freshman legislators (like himself) lifetime health insurance benefits. Not coincidentally, he intro'd his legislation at the same time House Republicans were attempting to move a bill eliminating lifetime benefits for legislators. Guess which one Andy Dillon decided to go with on the House floor...
So much for the documented proof that the state had done all it could to avoid raising taxes.
- Lying to voters. Check.
- Tax hikes during a single-state economic depression. Check.
- Hand-outs to big Democrat special interests. Check.
- Protecting his own lifetime benefits before protecting his constituents' jobs. Check.
Ladies and gentlemen, Robert Dean, Democrat, Michigan's 75th House District.
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Monday, October 01, 2007
The Quislings in Lansing - RECALL GRANHOLM
I just read over at the WOOD TV8 web site that the "Quislings in Lansing" voted in all sorts of tax increases. No details yet. They are busy with mutual back slapping in the state capitol right now. The heavy "We really needed this!" to try to convince us that a state in the pits of depression needs to be taxed some more comes next.
The following is excerpted from the WoodTV8 report.
Andy Dillon sure sounds remorsefull. "It's always tough in a recession to look at doing a revenue increase," said House Speaker Andy Dillon, D-Redford.
But it isnt as hard to actually do it, is it Andy? Democrats always find it the easiest route, raising taxes as the prime solution of choice, here at home in Michigan or in Washington, DC. If cuts in spending can be avoided, then by gosh that is what we will do, raise taxes.
Four Republican senators voted for the higher income tax -- Patricia Birkholz of Saugatuck, Tom George of Portage, Ron Jelinek of Three Oaks and Gerald Van Woerkom of Norton Shores.
The House passed the income tax measure 57-52.
Democrats hold a 58-52 edge in the House, but three Democrats -- Martin Griffin and Michael Simpson of the Jackson area and Lisa Wojno of Warren -- voted against it.
Two Republicans, Chris Ward of Brighton and Ed Gaffney of Grosse Pointe Farms, voted in favor of the proposal.
No House Republicans voted for the bill placing the 6 percent sales tax on services -- a proposal stiffly opposed by the business community.
All Democrats did, except for Reps. Marc Corriveau of Northville and Kate Ebli of Monroe, who voted no.
Political posturing over votes, with an eye toward the 2008 and 2010 elections, slowed down the process of getting a deal in place. But you can always count on the quislings to be there to stab the citizens in the back.
Some vulnerable Democrats had resisted voting for a tax increase, while some Republicans have worried they could face recalls if they support a tax increase.
The quislings win again. But we get the final laugh at the ballot box.
It is time to take a snapshot of the participants in this tax-and-spend escapade so we know who-is-who for the next election. Why? Answer: Some very heavy "duck and run" will be happening then. The miscreants are in tight sphincter mode watching your reactions, but that will ease as the new tax money flows from your pocket to the government coffers to grease the way, like a little KY jelly. After all, as they see it, it is not really your money. They just allow you to keep a little and the rest belongs to them.
Please give me a couple "RECALL GRANHOLM" petitions to circulate.
===
quis·ling [kwiz-ling] noun - someone who collaborates with an enemy occupying force [syn: collaborator, traitor]
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Saturday, September 29, 2007
RECALL GRANHOLM
Here is a link to the latest Ad by the Michigan GOP concerning the state budget and the impending shutdown of the state government.
Only Democrats are willing to do this to force tax increases.
Imagine if Republicans threatened to shut down government to force
spending cuts. 
Last year when the Granholm was running for re-election, everything was hunky dorey then suddenly after election time we were in crisis. WHY? The Granholm has been running the past 4 years with out a state constitution mandated balanced budget. The sympathetic MSM kept it quiet. Now in year 5 Jenny has decided to try to finish the job and bury Michigan which is in a steady downward spiral around the toilet bowl. With jobs fleeing the state and workers leaving to find employment elsewhere, things are looking pretty shakey right now. A tax increase could be the coup de grace.
My Solution... [FIRST] 
[SECOND]
Lets get someone who knows how to run a large corporation into the governors chair. The state needs a CEO with some large biz oriented talent to put it back on the road to solvency. For the common good of the people of the state of Michigan we must remove this incompetent governor and install someone that knows how to balance a budget. Who we need is a Lee Iococa type of Chief Executive Officer. We need someone with the sand to be able to decide where cuts must be made to get things working again.
===
coup de grâce (kōō' də gräs') n. pl. coups de grâce (kōō')
1. A deathblow delivered to end the misery of a mortally wounded victim.
2. A finishing stroke or decisive event.
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Edited on: Wednesday, October 03, 2007 2:43 PM EDT
Categories: Democrat Wackiness and Hypocrisy, Eye on the Government, GOP (KCGOP, MiGOP, and National), House and Senate info, Local, National, World News, Michigan News and Info
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Friday, September 28, 2007
Has there ever been a recall vote on a governor?
BREAKING: Memo circulating at Capitol shows voters agree with GOP on taxes
http://www.rightmichigan.com/story/2007/9/27/122716/481
By Nick Posted on Thu Sep 27, 2007 at 12:27:16 PM EST
Update [2007-9-27 12:55:5 by Nick]:Looks like the Governor's seen the memo and realizes she's losing the PR battle on her little shutdown scheme. She's asked for TV time to address the state on this whole budget debacle. Expect to turn on your sets to find breathy, impassioned rhetoric at 6:00 tonight.
Breaking news as the countdown clock to the Governor's shutdown moves under twelve hours. Remember, they're saying many services will essentially enter shutdown mode as of midnight tonight.
Amidst that backdrop, and with House Democrats scrambling to try to find SOME solution that their caucus can support (they haven't found it yet, despite their rhetoric) a memo has emerged today citing a just-completed poll of 521 Michigan voters. It has a margin of error in the neighborhood of +/- 4%.
Some of the interesting results:
- Governor Granholm has a slightly negative job rating of 45 postive to 53 negative but a highly negative 36 to 60 on her handling of the state fiscal crisis.
- Voters recognize that she's maneuvering for a shutdown and apparently they're not happy with her.
- Voters disagree with her tax proposals by 34-64. On the flipside, 58% agree with the GOP that we can avoid a tax increase by cutting waste and inefficiency.
- Only 33% of respondants believe cutting to balance the budget would even require "cutting to the bone."
And here are the big ones...
- 71% believe there is enough waste and inefficiency to cut specifically to avoid a tax increase. Only 24% believe a tax hike is the only way.
- 65% of respondants believe raising taxes would hurt the state's economy. 29% think it wouldn't have a negative effect.
More details as they become available... stay tuned (to steal a tag line).
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Edited on: Friday, September 28, 2007 3:21 AM EDT
Categories: Cross Posts (Yahoo, VDare, etc.), Eye on the Government, TAXES
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Thursday, September 20, 2007
Granholm only wants 3 billion - well its 1.5 billion now
Here is a re-post of the article from February 20, 2007 back when Granholm started her rant to raise taxes. Our Republican representation in Lansing has valiantly staved off all of the Granholm attempts to tax Michigan back into prosperity. We know that this is not possible but on the subject of raising taxes, the dems are always optimistic. With the current budget battle at a fever pitch this is most appropriate.
The Granholm tax monster only wants 3 Billion of your money... this year it is 1.5 billion.
You suck it up so the state doesn't have to! Why should the state have to make cuts when it is so much easier for you to just stop eating or driving your car? Better yet, leave Michigan and the Granholm will lose her hold on you. What, you cant just up and move? Your property will not sell for what the state has assessed you at... according to the state (and Granholm) that is tough shitski.
They just upped my property equalized value $1,800. AND the guv is still hungry. She wants MUCH bigger tax increases!
Thanks and a hat tip to Saul Anuzis at "That's Saul Folks!"
Edited on: Friday, October 05, 2007 9:41 AM EDT
Categories: Democrat Wackiness and Hypocrisy, Eye on the Government, TAXES
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Sunday, July 29, 2007
Are we ready for massive voter fraud? Illegal aliens voting...
Illegal Aliens CAN register to vote in Michigan!
To vote you must be a citizen by birth or naturalization. Immigrants, legal and illegal are not eligible.
Voting is a CITIZENSHIP privelege but it is quietly being exptended by panderers to non-citizens.
The system is rigged to look like our government is protecting citizens rights. It has been subverted by not listing citizen status on the government ID or drivers license. Appearances are that the attorney general is a participant. It has been pooh-poohed at the state level so far.
Here in Michigan, the ID requirement to obtain a Michigan Drivers License or ID looks tough.
There is no citizenship (born or naturalized) requirement for a Michigan Drivers License.
Immigration status (illegal or green card) is not mentioned anywhere on the drivers license or ID card.
How could an illegal alien get the prime identification of the State of Michigan?
If they spent any time in one of the border states, they probably have a Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, or California drivers license. Many states issue a drivers license to illegals. Do these states also use the license as ID for voter registration? These out-of-state licenses are accepted by the Michigan Secretary of State as a valid ID when applying for a Michigan Drivers License. Also I have found out that, even though it isn't listed with the required identifications, the Mexican Consulate issued Matricula Card is being accepted too.
Q: What does having a Michigan drivers license enable you to do?
A: You can register to vote! (Even as a non-citizen because of possession of a Michigan Drivers License!)
Q: What else is needed to register to vote?
A: Utility bills or other papers showing residency. Then you sign a statement that you are a citizen. This should pose no problem to someone who is already violating laws by being here illegally. What is one little lie about your citizenship status on top of all the federal laws already being broken.
The Michigan Drivers License is the ONLY form of ID required to vote in Michigan. No birth certificate or naturalization papers are needed.
We have heard that La Raza and other subversive organizations are on a drive to register voters... now we know how they are going to do it!
I have emailed Mike Cox, the Michigan AG, about this and nothing has been heard since. The Michigan Secretary of State and the Michigan Attorney General seem to be in agreement that this is OK. The word from the Michigan SOS offices is that an act of Congress is necessary to make them stop these practices.
Monday, July 23, 2007
JUST VOTE NO ON TAX INCREASE- August 7, 2007
NO NEW TAXES
On August 7th the tax and spenders are hoping you will stay home so they can pass a tax increase. If you do not vote on Tuesday, August 7 2007, and then see your tax bill go up, don't cry, you did vote by ignoring your civic duty. A no-show is a YES vote for higher taxes. If this is your feelings on raising taxes, you dont need to show up because the BIG tax crowd will have their proponents lined up ready to vote you a tax increase. By now you all should have been hit in the wallet by your increased summer tax by several hundred dollars county tax collected six months early (authorized by Sak, Koetje, Sikkema, and more). The tax-and-spenders want to jack up your tax bill even larger. If you look, GRCC is itemized seperately. They have been building like crazy downtown and now want you to pay additional because they built all these shiny new buildings and want to fill them with bodies at your expense.
If you go look in the MLive.com Grand Rapids forum (message 9649), one of the writers (CNRCO) calls this tax "an increase by a thousand cuts"... Twenty bucks here and another twenty there and after a while it adds up to some serious money. Also see the debate continue in message 9680 on MLive.com... unfortuantely it's mostly all the same players. Very few new voices in the forum. MLive.com is the Booth News Group (GR Press, Anal Arbor News, Kalamazooty Gazette, etc) online presence so this may turn people off. I have wondered how many commenters are staffers of the GR Press.
But why have I not heard anything about this tax increase?
Whenever they want to push through a tax increase the taxers will wait until August and hope you are away on vacation. They are very low key and hope you do not notice that the election is coming until it is here. The local mass media is in full participation on this. The local ra