County goes with local, not lowest, bidder

County goes with local, not lowest, bidder
"Muskegon County commissioners have no official policy saying they have to favor local companies that bid for county contracts.
But when the bidding is close, commissioners clearly can be expected to favor a Muskegon-area firm over an outsider, even if the outsider is the low bidder. .....

Then the board voted 5-3 to award the contract to Jackson-Merkey Contractors of Muskegon, a regular county contractor that finished second in the bidding, $23,306 higher than the Grand Rapids firm.



Aley and Engle joined commissioners Chuck Buzzell, Lew Collins and Roger Wade in supporting the bid of the Muskegon County firm. Snider, Mahoney and Commissioner Louis McMurray supported the low bidder.

Suicidal republicans-Vito Fossella

Vito Fossella lied to other woman; wife considers dumping him

Laura Fay, who had a baby (below) with Fossella, says the councilman lied to her about his marriage. Vito Fossella's admission that he fathered a love child exposed another of his lies: He had told his girlfriend he was separated from his wife, the Daily News learned Friday"

Just how crooked, perverted and stupid ARE the GOPers?

Obama needs a history lesson

Instapundit.com -

"'Think about this - the probable next President of the United States does not know even the broad outlines of the history of American foreign policy from WWII forward and does not know the history of Democratic icons Roosevelt or Truman. '"

Obama wants an American Politburo?

The Volokh Conspiracy

"That’s one of the reasons I opposed Alito, you know, as well as Justice Roberts.

BHussein giving another clear difference between the candidates.

McCain "visited 57 states"

Marc Ambinder (May 09, 2008)Files

Oh man!

The candidatesse/candidate is TOO old!

Think about a President who is so addled that he/she thimks we have "57 states"!

Is the new national "freeCare" gonna get us hep for addled South Chicago men?

Oops... not McGeezer..... it's the Magic Man!

Tipping point: fill up tank or work?

Tipping point: fill up tank or work?
"For William Loper, $3.89 per gallon was the breaking point, the price point at which it no longer makes sense to travel long distance to and from work.
In Montcalm County, unemployment is at 11 percent. After Electrolux left, Loper 'lost my landscape business of 21 years...because everyone lost their jobs, lost their home, they didn't need me to put in a new lawn.'"

Intense Romanian film may be too much for many Michiganians

Intense Romanian film may be too much for many Michiganians
"A shattering work from writer/director Cristian Mungiu, '4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days' won the prestigious Palme d'Or Award at the Cannes Film Festival. It somehow was not an Oscar nominee this year for best foreign language film. Go figure."

At The Harbor Theatre this weekend.

Incentives too steep at $900,000 per job

Incentives too steep at $900,000 per job
"When Michigan feels it must pay $900,000 in tax credits per job to lure new business, leaders ought to be asking themselves if something more can be done to make the state attractive to the kind of high-tech firms it says it is seeking."

This is nuts!

And consistent with the Granholm administration.

Muskegon school leaders working to improve graduation rates

Muskegon school leaders working to improve graduation rates: "The 'Creating A Graduation Generation Conference' got underway this morning.
Nearly every school district in the county is represented."

Sure would be interesting to see which districts skipped out.

The Chronicle does it again

Cyclone tragedy shows how vital local agencies are
"Many of us were glad, then, for the timely presence of the Red Cross and other United Way-affiliated relief agencies that were on hand immediately to help out. Such emergencies often are the worst of times, but reveal the best in men and women."

Another lame editorial from The Muskegon Chronicle.

Yes it's nice to fawn over their favorite NGOs but somehow they "forgot" to mention the funny guys and gals in those weird outfits........ Stephan King suggests they can't read so that's why they joined....

The United States Navy and the rest of our armed forces!

Charities and black tie dinners and nice, but when the cyclone hits, the folks who deliver are our troops.

God love and protect them!

The Ultimate Conservative Nightmare?

The Ultimate Conservative Nightmare?
"I was wondering just who John McCain might pick as a running mate and it hit me like a ton of bricks: I predict that after Hillary is finally forced out of the race, McCain will shock the world and pick Hillary Clinton as his vice-presidential candidate!”
Think about that for a minute. “McCain/Clinton 2008.”"

Nifong bankrupt

Yes, it may be petty to really enjoy reading this....
"Mike Nifong Bankruptcy: Speaking of the the Duke Lacrosse case, this is a bit of old news, but back in January Mike Nifong had to file bankruptcy to deal with the civil lawsuits that have been brought against him by the exonerated Duke lacrosse players. He lists assets of $243,000 and liabilities of $180 million (presumably contingent claims)."

.......but YES!

That bastard deserves it all.

Morels 2007

I had 4 last year!

This was taken in mid-May 2007

The biggest was about 8"!

Very tasty.

Nothing yet this year.......

ARE CONSERVATIVES HAPPY? OR SELFISH?

ARE CONSERVATIVES HAPPY? OR SELFISH?
"The newspaper's usual racial columnist has a different theory. Conservatives are happy, he says, because they are selfish. And he offers this tidbit:"

"Many of the people so proud about being conservative strike me as selfish individuals who don't spend much worrying about life's inequities or the less privileged in our society. If you doubt that, just remember the reaction to the suffering of people caught in Hurricane Katrina by most conservatives.
They thought the people in New Orleans deserved what they got."

Detroit has second-worst commute, Forbes says

Detroit has second-worst commute, Forbes says: "Metro Detroit's commute ranked second worst in the nation by Forbes magazine, behind only the poor folks in Atlanta."

I remember in the 1960s Detroit was in the top 3 worst commutes in the country.

It's NOT the lack of mass transit you fools.

Meebee ya took a ride on the "wonderful" People Mover lately?

No.

It's the NIMBYs and the democrat supported enviro-lonies who have stopped any new roads.

...... but maybe I'm wrong...... It's Bush's fault......

Ah.... I feel better already.......

Dropout 'crisis' addressed at conferences

Dropout 'crisis' addressed at conferences
"It's being called a crisis.
School leaders say the student dropout rate in Michigan is a huge problem that's costing taxpayers billions of dollars every year.

Amazing that this WOOD TV 8 post has "crisis" in quotes.

Like it's not a "crisis"?

And how they focus on the costs to taxpayers.
Not the terrible cost to the poor child so ill served by our rotten "educational" system and its union leaders.

A roll call vote on Mich. smoking ban

A roll call vote on Mich. smoking ban
"Gerald Van Woerkom R Norton Shores 34 N"

Michigan Senate OKs ban on smoking in bars, restaurants

Michigan Senate OKs ban on smoking in bars, restaurants
"The Michigan Senate on Thursday voted to prohibit smoking in all bars, restaurants and workplaces. ..
The bill passed the Democratic-led House in December. But it had been opposed by Senate leaders, who said it would put unnecessary government restrictions on private establishments.

Unlike the House version, the Senate version makes no special exceptions for casinos, bingo halls and other buildings.

Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm has said she will sign a smoking ban.

Sixteen Democrats and nine Republicans voted for the bill. Eleven Republicans and one Democrat voted against it.

Energy idiocy

The Corner on National Review Online: "I'm not sure that, ecologically speaking, drilling oil in about 2000 acres in the north of Alaska is all that different from dotting our mountain ridges and coasts (ask the Kennedys et al) with enormous windmills or creating vast acres of solar panels throughout our fragile deserts or covering our roofs with panels and pipes and assorted gadgetry."

YouTube - Battle at Kruger

YouTube - Battle at Kruger

Vallejo Votes For Bankruptcy

Vallejo Votes For Bankruptcy
"Vallejo City Council voted unanimously late Tuesday night to file Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection.
The city faces a $16 million deficit in the 2008-2009 budget starting July 1 and unsuccessfully negotiated with its police, firefighter and electrical workers unions for contract concessions through 2012. Public safety salaries comprise 74 percent of the city's general fund budget."

The first wave in the tsunami of municipal bankruptcies caused by the employees looting their cities.

Six Fraternities Suspended After Drug Raid at San Diego State University

Six Fraternities Suspended After Drug Raid at San Diego State University
"The San Diego chapter, founded 61 years ago, was the first national fraternity on campus and has 65 members.
Theta Chi's San Diego chapter declined to comment. The chapter occupies two low-slung homes a block off Fraternity Row, with large red-and-white Greek symbols propped on the roof.
Theta Chi has 131 chapters in the U.S. and Canada and more than 161,000 initiates. It was founded in 1856.
University police launched their investigation into drug sales on campus after Shirley Poliakoff, 19, died from a cocaine overdose in May 2007. Investigators discovered many students in fraternities were aware of organized drug dealing within their houses.
As the investigation continued, another student, from Mesa College, died of a cocaine overdose at an SDSU fraternity house on Feb. 26, the DEA said.
Some drugs bought and sold by students were traced to gangs linked to Mexican cartels, according to the DEA. Agents collected about $100,000 worth of drugs, including cocaine, ecstasy pills, hallucinogenic mushrooms and high-grade marijuana that were being advertised in 'resale quantities' between members of the fraternity and other students."

Fixing Windows Vista, Part 3: Top Troubleshooting Tools

Fixing Windows Vista, Part 3: Top Troubleshooting Tools
"Do you think Windows Vista is slow, crash-prone, or unreliable? Join the crowd."

Popping the Higher Ed Bubble

Popping the Higher Ed Bubble
'Over the last 10 years, after adjusting for inflation, tuition is up 48% at public schools and 24% at private schools.'"

Steinbeck’s grapes lack wrath this time around - Times Online

Steinbeck’s grapes lack wrath this time around - Times Online: "Whatever happened to the Great Depression? Not the real one from 70 years ago, the lost decade of unimagined misery and Steinbeckian angst, the worst period in the history of modern capitalism. I mean the replay we were promised this year. The one we were told was the inevitable counterpart to the greatest financial crisis since a couple of medieval Italians first sat down on a Florentine bench and invented the word “bank”.
I don’t know about you but I feel a bit cheated. There we all were, led to believe by so many commentators that the sub-prime crisis was going to force the United States into a new era of dust bowls and breadlines, a slump that would call into question the very functioning of the capitalist system in the world’s largest economy. Carried away on the surging wave of their own economically dubious verbosity, the pundits even speculated that this unavoidable calamity might presage some 1930s-style global political cataclysm to match."

We Can Solve It

We Can Solve It

Muskegon Township rejects plan for manager - mlive.com

Muskegon Township rejects plan for manager - mlive.com: "In the end, the historic decision to reject a proposal that would have changed Muskegon Township's government to a professional manager system hinged on one man.
And he couldn't make up his mind."

Vern Ehlers calls gas-tax holiday 'a silly idea'

Vern Ehlers calls gas-tax holiday 'a silly idea'
'A silly idea' is how U.S. Rep. Vern Ehlers, R-Grand Rapids, Monday described a proposal to lift the federal gasoline tax for the summer to help motorists paying record-high gas prices."

Beyond silly.... reducing taxes is always a bad idea...... good God....... where do we get such politicians?

Hep me here.... reducing the amout the taxpayers give to the government is bad?

Then increasing the amount that taxpayers give to the government is GOOD?

Now .... meebeee.... I'm gettin' it........

NOT!

$600,000/yr taken from Muskegon businesses?

Muskegon County tourism manager
"developing the county's roughly $170,000 advertising and promotional budget.
Besides Foreman's promotion, Wendling also received board approval to promote Kristin Venne to senior tourism aide. Wendling, Foreman and Venne are the only fulltime staff at the CVB, which has an operating budget of approximately $600,000 a year. The bureau has two parttime staff and two other seasonal parttime positions during the summer months."

Come on folks!

We ain't gettin'our money's worth!

Never did!

Mr & Ms Chairman of Tourism,

"Tare down that wall.......... of ineptness and waste!"

and free the businesses to make their own promotional decisions!

GRPS and teachers fight over safety

GRPS and teachers fight over safety: "School officials accuse the union of digitally altering the mailings; making union quotes in a Grand Rapids Press article appear as stated fact."

Imagine how tough it would be to view and report the actual mailings!

Classic cowardly reporting by the MSM that supports every union every time.

Not too much support for the dopes who pay taxes.....