Saturday, May 19, 2012

Michigan debates 'Stand Your Ground' law

Michigan debates 'Stand Your Ground' law | The Detroit News | detroitnews.com
Since Michigan's law was enacted, justifiable homicides have gradually increased, according to Michigan State Police statistics.

There were no more than four justifiable homicides reported annually between 1997 and 2006.
In 2007, there were eight justifiable homicides, followed by six in 2008, 17 in 2009 and 16 in 2010.

Senate OKs school pension tweak

Senate OKs school pension tweak | The Detroit News | detroitnews.com
Lansing— The Michigan Senate voted Thursday to alter the fringe benefits of public school employment and eliminate pensions for new workers.
On a narrow 20-18 vote, the Senate approved legislation establishing a 401(k)-style defined contribution retirement plan for all employees hired after Jan. 1, 2013.
Senate Bill 1040 also would eliminate guaranteed lifetime health insurance coverage for newly hired public school employees.
Instead, new workers would get an additional 2 percent of salary dedicated toward their 401(k) retirement fund.
The controversial legislation now heads to the House. Speaker Jase Bolger said Thursday he hopes to deliver the legislation to Gov. Rick Snyder's desk with a new state operating budget by June 1.
The bill passed Thursday over the objection of some lawmakers, who said the Legislature should not be changing the pension and retirement benefits for thousands of employees who have worked under assumptions their costs were fixed.

In 2010, the Michigan Public School Employees Retirement System had a $45 billion unfunded liability.
State budget officials estimate the liability may now be more than $50 billion, said state Sen. Roger Kahn, R-Saginaw.

Richardville supports closing school pension plan to new hires

Richardville supports closing school pension plan to new hires - The Backroom - The Detroit News
Richardville’s endorsement of 401(k) plans for public school workers was the biggest development Wednesday in the Michigan Senate after several hours of closed-door negotiating over a bill to overhaul MPSERS, which faces a projected $50 billion unfunded liability for pension and health care benefits.
State Sen. Mark Jansen, R-Grand Rapids, said Tuesday he will offer an amendment on the Senate floor that would institute 401(k) employees hired after Jan. 1, 2013. MPSERS has more than 444,000 retired and active workers in public schools, community colleges, seven universities and some charter schools and public libraries.
Senators delayed voting on Senate Bill 1040 until Thursday to refine the language and get a fiscal impact of the proposed reforms, Richardville said.
Senate Republicans met in closed-door caucus meetings three times Wednesday — discussing the MPSERS bill at least twice.
“One of the members got up and said ‘You know 24 hours more to be prepared and make sure we don’t make a mistake is wisdom versus anything else,’” Richardville said.
The state of Michigan closed its employee pension plan in 1997 and instituted 401(k) retirement plans. The legislation pending before the Senate would increase pension contributions for current employees, require all retirees pay 20 percent of their health insurance premiums and eliminate retiree health care for new workers.
Pension experts have warned there may be millions in upfront costs to close the pension system because new hires would no longer being paying in to support the current retirees.
“Well, there are going to be some upfront costs, but you know like anything, it’s like closing cost on a lower-rate mortgage,” said Richardville, R-Monroe. “Yeah you’ve got to suck it up a little bit now, but over the long run … everybody talks about kids and grandkids. This actually does something for the classrooms of kids and grandkids.”

Let voters decide fate of EM law, appeals court told

Let voters decide fate of EM law, appeals court told | The Detroit News | detroitnews.com
The effort to repeal the state's emergency manager law is now in the hands of the state Court of Appeals after opponents on Thursday urged the panel to let voters decide its fate.
The group Stand Up for Democracy asked the three-judge court to heed the more than 203,200 signatures gathered to get Public Act 4 on the November ballot — roughly 40,000 more than needed.
A group called Citizens for Fiscal Responsibility successfully challenged the petitions last month, saying the type size in the petition headline was too small.

Republicans deny Anuzis, Hughes reelection to party leadership posts

Land, Agema and Michigan GOP chairman Bobby Schostak will hold the three leadership posts for Michigan Republicans to the national party.
Schostak batted down a notion Agema and Land won because they successfully positioned themselves as more conservative.
"I'm not sure that they were any more to the right," Schostak said. "I think they were all pretty much within the same bandwidth of conservative values and issues. I just think that they're incumbents, they've been in office awhile and fresh people came kind of out of nowhere."
But John Yob, a GOP strategist and Agema backer, saw the election outcome a different way.
"If Bobby doesn't understand that Dave Agema is more conservative and thinks they came out of nowhere to win then he is in far over his head in leading our party," Yob said.
Michigan will send 59 delegates to the GOP national convention in Tampa, but just 30 will vote because of penalties from the national party for moving up the primary before state rules allowed. The three party leaders will be excluded from voting.
From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120519/POLITICS01/205190373#ixzz1vMBEOLAf

Weather service to issue new hazards forecast along Lake Michigan shoreline

Weather service to issue new hazards forecast along Lake Michigan shoreline | MLive.com
“We have a drowning one day and the next, we have four, five foot waves and I see parents on the beach not paying attention to their kids,” said Todd Dunham, a deputy with the Muskegon County Sheriff’s Department and head of the Marine Division.

Paul backers pick up delegate slots to GOP convention; negate Romney sweep

Paul backers pick up delegate slots to GOP convention; negate Romney sweep | The Detroit News Among the 14 sometimes-contentious congressional district elections, Paul supporters picked up at least eight delegate slots to the Tampa convention in August out of 42 at stake, according to one Republican Party source counting the delegates, with sweeps in the Northern Michigan's 1st District and West Michigan's 2nd District.
"We came down with a plan and we got it done," said Joseph Jurecki, a Paul backer who won an election in the 2nd Congressional District at the Michigan Republican Party State Convention.

Friday, May 18, 2012

Regardless Of What The Propaganda Says, This Is Not How A Free Society Treats People

Guest Post: Regardless Of What The Propaganda Says, This Is Not How A Free Society Treats People | ZeroHedge
It seems so bizarre that a country once regarded as the freest, most economically enviable in the world would treat its productive citizens with such hostility.

The Crucial Trayvon Martin Evidence the Media Won’t Repeat

PJ Media » The Crucial Trayvon Martin Evidence the Media Won’t Repeat
The eyewitness did not see the beginning of the fight, but had a clear view of it when he heard George Zimmerman crying for help and went to his door.
He saw George Zimmerman on his back on the ground. Trayvon Martin, according to the eyewitness, was sitting on Zimmerman’s chest, raining down blows from a mount position, “MMA style.”
 From the investigator’s description of a witness statement on page 38 of the discovery documentation, we learn:
When he investigated, he witnessed a black male, wearing a dark-colored “hoodie” on top of a white or Hispanic male and throwing punches “MMA (mixed martial arts) style.
” He stated that he yelled out to the two individuals that he was going to call the police.
He then heard a “pop.”
 He stated that after hearing the “pop,” he observed the person he had previously observed on top of the other person (the black male wearing the “hoodie”) laid out on the grass.
The witness’s statement is transcribed in the next paragraph:
I heard yelling out back in grass area of home but not sure at first but after second “help” yell I opened blinds, and saw clothing but everything dark outside. I opened door and saw a guy on the ground getting hit by another man on top of him in the strattle [sic] position hitting a guy in red sweatshirt or on the bottom getting hit was yelling help (guy getting hit on ground was wearing red calling out help). I said I was calling the cops and ran upstairs then heard a gunshot. When I got upstairs I saw the guy on top who was hitting the guy in the red lain out on the grass as if he had been shot.
The witness was 30 feet away, with a direct and apparently unobstructed line of sight to the fight.

THE FACE OF GENOCIDAL ECO-FASCISM

THE FACE OF GENOCIDAL ECO-FASCISM:“am not exaggerating.
This is Finnish writer Pentti Linkola — a man who demands that the human population reduce its size to around 500 million and abandon modern technology and the pursuit of economic growth — in his own words.”
As Bob Zubrin has pointed out, such sentiments, if usually a bit less bluntly stated, are driving environmental policy nowadays.
It’s Himmler in a green shirt.
These are not nice people who want good things for everyone.
These are evil people who hanker after mass death.

Still, it’s educational to hear things like this: “The United States symbolises the worst ideologies in the world: growth and freedom.”
If you like growth and freedom, these people are your enemies. Remember that and treat them accordingly.

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Van Jones: I was silent during BP spill because of Obama

Van Jones: I was silent during BP spill because of Obama | The Daily Caller
“We didn’t do it. You’ve never seen the environmental movement more quiet during an oil spill,” Jones admitted. ”I guarantee you, if John McCain had been president, with that oil spill, or George Bush had been president with that oil spill, I’d have been out there with a sign protesting. I didn’t, because of who the president was.”

Taliban Terrorism Poetry Gets June Release in United States

Taliban Terrorism Poetry Gets June Release in United States | NewsBusters.org
"Poetry of the Taliban" – edited by a group of London researchers – has already been released in the U.K. and the liberal media are praising the collection as “important” and “original,” remarking how the Taliban’s verse “humanizes” murderers.

O'Keefe Video Turns up Pressure on Governor Perdue in North Carolina

O'Keefe Video Turns up Pressure on Governor Perdue in North Carolina
The new video James O'Keefe's Project Veritas released yesterday, which showed how easy it was for non-citizens to vote in North Carolina

Ally Financial's mortgage arm files for bankruptcy

Ally Financial's mortgage arm files for bankruptcy | MLive.com
Ally, which is 74 percent owned by the U.S. government, was the financial arm of General Motors Co. until the banking industry meltdown in 2008.
It needed a $17.2 billion bailout to survive the downturn. Ally has repaid about $5.5 billion and it still owes the government just under $12 billion.

U.S. Army soldier brutally beaten in South Tampa

VIDEO: U.S. Army soldier brutally beaten in South Tampa | wtsp.com
It was an awful welcome to Tampa Bay for a young soldier. Police say the victim of a violent beating caught on camera is 24 years old and has lived in Tampa for less than a month.

Sugar can make you dumb, US scientists warn

Sugar can make you dumb, US scientists warn - Yahoo! News Canada
"Our findings illustrate that what you eat affects how you think," said Gomez-Pinilla.
"Eating a high-fructose diet over the long term alters your brain's ability to learn and remember information.
But adding omega-3 fatty acids to your meals can help minimize the damage."

Detroit groundskeeper fired after finding loaded gun, handing it to cops

Detroit groundskeeper fired after finding loaded gun, handing it to cops | Fox News
However, Chevilott's superiors at the Wayne County Department of Public Services had a much different opinion.
His foreman, who had knowledge of the situation, was suspended for 30 days, and after 23 years on the job, Chevilott was fired for violating department policies.
According to a Wayne County spokeswoman and the rules, employees aren't allowed to possess a weapon on work property

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Federal Workers' 2011 Salary Data Exposed Online

Federal Workers' 2011 Salary Data Exposed Online | wusa9.com
DataUniverse.com estimates the databank covers about 70% of federal workers, but Department of Defense, White House, Congress, CIA, FBI, and some other agencies are excluded.

Red Cross responds on union contract issues

Letter: Red Cross responds on union contract issues | MLive.com
Health benefits remain the biggest obstacle to reaching a contract agreement with workers in the Great Lakes Region.
The Red Cross offered its union members a health benefits package that is the same as those provided to nonunion employees in the Region, but union leaders continue to demand health benefits that are greater than those of any Red Cross employee in Michigan -- or across the country.
It’s important to know that since these unions went on strike March 30, the Red Cross has reached settlements with two unions in other parts of the country.
Notably, one of these two agreements was with the OPEIU in Oakland, Calif. - the same union that is striking here.
Overall, the Red Cross has reached agreements on 20 other union contracts since July 2011 -- and three with other Teamsters unions.

Audit: Dead people and prisoners recorded as voting in Michigan

Audit: Dead people and prisoners recorded as voting in Michigan | MLive.com
Elections officials say in the report that they’re working on fixing the issues raised in the audit.
And they say clerical error is the culprit behind the voting concerns, not voter fraud.

Invasive grubs destroy lawns in Northern Michigan

Invasive grubs destroy lawns in Northern Michigan - petoskeynews.com
The grubs he's talking about specifically are European chafer grubs, an invasive insect, and they've arrived in Michigan

Chris Matthews Bombs on 'Jeopardy!' After Repeatedly Mocking Palin for How She'd Do | NewsBusters.org

Chris Matthews Bombs on 'Jeopardy!' After Repeatedly Mocking Palin for How She'd Do | NewsBusters.org
On at least four occasions, MSNBC's Chris Matthews mocked Sarah Palin for how he felt she'd do if she were ever on the hit television game show Jeopardy!
In a delicious example of instant karma, the self-proclaimed brainiac got his chance to show America how smart he was in a special "Power Players" version of the show Monday, but came up quite short finishing dead last with the paltry sum of only $2,300 (video follows with transcribed highlights and commentary):

Monday, May 14, 2012

CJ's on the Beach financial struggles might keep it from opening this summer at Pere Marquette Park

CJ's on the Beach financial struggles might keep it from opening this summer at Pere Marquette Park | MLive.com
Because the beach bar business is not current on its property taxes and owes the city of Muskegon for its land lease payments, the Muskegon City Commission recommended the state deny the eatery's annual liquor license renewal until past debts are paid.

Can the American Currency Union Survive?

Can the American Currency Union Survive? - Ricochet.com
Frank’s argument, which makes perfect sense to me, set me to thinking about the United States.
After all, we have the same problem as the European Union.
Some of the states constituting our Union have spent money on public-sector salaries and benefits and on welfare programs as if there was no tomorrow.
California has a budget deficit of $16 billion for this year, and that is just the beginning.
As time passes and pensions promised in the past come due, public expenses will skyrocket.
Something similar is true in Illinois and New York.
In effect, these are clientalistic states on the Greek model, and they are approaching the end of their tether.

The Spirit of Geert Wilders - Mark Steyn

The Spirit of Geert Wilders - Mark Steyn - National Review Online
The British Home Office banned Mr. Wilders as a threat to “public security” — not because he was threatening any member of the public, but because prominent Muslims were threatening him:
The Labour-party peer Lord Ahmed pledged to bring a 10,000-strong mob to lay siege to the House of Lords if Wilders went ahead with his speaking engagement there.

Did Michigan Supreme Court Justice play a shell game to get out from underwater home?

Did Michigan Supreme Court Justice play a shell game to get out from underwater home?
The owner is Justice Diane Hathaway. Last November, she convinced her bank she didn’t have the money to keep making payments on her Michigan home on Lake St. Clair, even though she owned her Florida lakefront home free and clear.          
In fact, records show in a little over a year, she’s owned four homes: one in Florida, and three in Grosse Pointe Park. 
The homes are a part of a dizzying property shuffle that experts say raise ethical and legal questions, but Justice Hathaway has been ducking those questions for more than six weeks.