April

The month starts with 2 newspaper articles about people having fund raisers for a brain tumor patient, 34, working 2 jobs, no insurance and then a young boy whose family needs help. There are 2 ways to view these 2, probably more actually; but it is sad if insurance is not available or affordable. If it was an intentional non purchase? Tough luck? Personally, I believe everyone should have access to insurance, insurance that doesn't cost an extravagant amount. Of course, if not wanted--then don't ask for help or fund raisers and die?


Read a message from the ACLU to thank my rep Scott for voting for the state bill to allow 1 non related person on insurance. What? Crazy I thought? But probably not since he has a baby with a female he's not married to--yet--and maybe that baby needs insurance. How hypocritical--but maybe that's a Republican or general politician characteristic. This same rep just introduced a bill that "would fine the MEA $5,000 per teacher for each full or partial day of a teacher strike and strip a striking teacher's license" (flint journal, april 1 p6). Know that strikes are already illegal in MI and a fine exists; I like the stripping of the license though. Nice touch. Is this concerted effort to get rid of all unions and most rights won by unions which benefit everyone on the right track? Welcome to the midwest--MI, WI, OH, IN, and your state next. Paul Scott is a 2nd term rep who is already head of the House Education Committee. Looks like Engler's blood continues to run through good Republicans.


How about states quitting a federal stimulus program offering extended unemployment benefits. MO just did that; MI, AK, and FL just cut back on money going to the unemployed although targeting state benefits.


Less for people with little: more for corporations. GE paid no taxes this year. How extraordinary and evil. People need to do something before it's too late--the death of the middle and lower classes is progressing nicely.


monday:
went to GFS to price gather and ended up getting a box of cookies to bake. asked at the check out where they were made since the box only had the distributed by phrase. clerk checked computer, asked for help several times, and finally they came up with WI. i believe the man called the # on the box. shouldn't we know where food stuffs come from? why made for or distributed by? while waiting, had time to check stuff by the counter. pace salsa--distributed by/mars candy--distributed by. did have conversations with a woman who shops vg's since it is family owned and lady whose friend out west said gas was still cheap there at 3.49/gal.

home on SE corner of irish and bristol where they destroyed the mini swamp with all the cat tails now has standing water. what a surprise. also a surprise was the pump/siphon with hose running from the pond to the drain. is it legal to run your pond water to the drains? what a pretty swamp it was with the birds a few years ago/what an eye sore environmentally destroyed water hole now. progress?

tues april 12: went to progressive meeting where we watched Inside Job. seen it before but forgot how pissed i got the 1st time and just as mad this time. to see the deregulation being allowed or ignored, to see which people were on bank boards or CEO's or in the fed reserve--and then to see those people involved in bush sr's, clinton's, bush jr and now obama's administration destroying america in the name of corporations. unbelievable. no difference between repub or dem, none. we have reached a corporatocracy and the damage done i think is almost beyond fixing. derivatives, leverage (went from 1 to 3 up to 1 to 33), no regulations, obscene ceo pay etc. may god get every one of those involved.


wednesday april 13/meijers today--no one in pet dept, no one in jewelry (usually isn't so that's not new), no one in garden area when i wanted to buy berry pack. went inside with my already purchased groceries, to greeter, sent to cd/tv/gaming area to pay. decided to bring joy to customer "service" desk -- and i was nice too (hard to believe). the 2 workers said yup, happens all the time; they have to call or someone to a dept. $100 cash spent there this week: guess they don't want more business. good part there: it's never busy so they really don't need customer service

love to see things with french on them like the rugs at meijers with bon apetit--20$ for something misspelled. what an idiotic product.

thurs:
womansday for may has a good site to comparison shop for cd rates etc. try bankrate.com

same issue the stigma of illness article: woman diagnosed with HIV discusses common misconceptions about several diseases. she contracted hiv in a supposedly monogamous heterosexual relationship. 1 in 5 women and 1 in 10 men with lung cancer have never smoked. a woman who is bipolar was told by a relative that mental illness isn't real so why was she taking meds? like dad said, the only way you get fat is by eating too much. a simple approach to life. i like it: sometimes blaming the victim is for the best.


at meeting last night april 14: 2 state reps explaining how the gov has expanded proposal A to include universities and state colleges. Proposal A was for K-12. there was a 600 million surplus but the state will be cutting a billion so that there can be a 2 billion corporate tax decrease. probably will pass next week. both reps believe the MINIMUM decrease to school aid/student will be $700. general consensus: having state employees/teachers pay 20-40% of insurance will never begin to cover loss.

sat 4-23-11
from sojourners may 2011: good article on genetically modified alfalfa. p10 unfortunately "farmers who grow alfalfa for seed have little hope of maintaining pure strains. Seeds comingle in storage and transport, and--although alfalfa for hay is usually cut before it blooms--cross pollination is inevitable, since bees don't pause to check whether flowers are genetically modified or not". If as Henry Miller in Forbes said "We need seeds and crops that can better withstand drought, combat new pests and weeds, and perhaps adjust to changes in climate and growing seasons" how does roundup ready anything help? The author wondered who was promoting this? Land O'Lakes. It owns Forage Genetics, the seed distributor that cooperated with Monsanto to get us the roundup ready alfalfa. The president of Forage hopes that within 3 to 5 years half of the US alfalfa crop can be roundup ready. Isn't that great?

ordinary people can become extraordinary world changers--liked that idea

act justly, love mercy, walk humbly--micah 6:8

never knew the words to solidarity forever:
"all the world that's owned by idle drones is ours and ours alone.
we have laid the wide foundations; built it skyward stone by stone.
it is ours, not to slave in, but to master and to own,
while the union makes us strong.
solidarity forever! solidarity forever! solidarity forever!
for the union makes us strong."

People Power from sojourners may 2011--some things worth remembering: p18 "there is little truth to the claim that insurgents must use violence in order to get what they want. Many observers maintain that people resort to violence when they are forced to do so--by overly repressive circumstances, by injustices they can no longer tolerate--and after exhausting all other means of political influence. p19 Civilian-led non violent resistance can divide and topple regimes as security forces grow weary of repressing their unarmed compatriots. Material support from foreign states has little effect on the success of nonviolent campaigns."

90 Days To A Better Michigan--the republican lie

April 1, 2011

Lansing, MI — Governor Rick Snyder’s first 90 days in office have been marked by his unshakable focus on one goal: Fixing Michigan, Michigan GOP Chairman Bobby Schostak said Friday.

“Since Day One Governor Snyder has done precisely what he promised to do when campaigning for office last fall,” Schostak said. “Working with legislative leaders, the governor is taking bold steps toward making Michigan into a destination for prosperity and for families who want to enjoy the economic health and physical beauty of this great state.”

Schostak singled out House Speaker Jase Bolger, Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville, and Lieutenant Governor Brian Calley as effective leaders who have supported key policy changes aimed at creating jobs and protecting taxpayers’ money.

The governor started his first 90 days with an online “Dashboard” that monitors how well Michigan is performing in critical areas, such as education, public safety, and economic strength. He followed by backing legislative measures that modernize the state’s item pricing law, reduce or eliminate burdensome regulations on businesses, and encourage local units of government to behave more responsibly when spending taxpayers’ money.

“This governor, through words and actions, is exhibiting his concern for Michigan families. He is taking all the time necessary – even as he works the levers of government – to speak directly to our communities, our families, and our neighbors at events throughout the state,” Schostak said. “He has traveled across Michigan almost every night and has done so much to communicate his concerns and approach to re-inventing Michigan. I marvel at his eagerness, energy, and focus as he remains true to his campaign


letter to those on education committee in mi, wed april 27

It is extremely dismaying to see a concerted effort to destroy education in Michigan. As I read the continuing pile of bills coming from your committee and your inane comments, I am amazed at how little you must know about teaching, educators, school systems and the public's attitude toward all these bills. Obviously you have not spent much if any time in elementary, middle school or high school. What a shame that people believed they voted for you to help with state problems; instead you are helping make many, many more. Most support you had is eroding quickly.

Is the ultimate plan to privatize schools so you or companies you are getting funds from profit?

Why continued tax breaks for companies and increases for the average citizen?

Will having a teaching degree in any way be necessary for a teaching career? We have licensed mechanics but aren't going to have licensed educators? When you take licenses away, can the teachers go on unemployment? Or do you plan to make new laws to fit the plan you want for that?

How many jobs is this education destruction going to create?

Rumors can get a union decertified? Just rumors? That will be a fun game to play, one which you specifically should appreciate.

Just talking about a strike will be illegal? No right to free speech? Very constitutional and illegal sounding. Can you make a list of what will be acceptable things about which to converse?

The MEA is far from the "most culpable"; actions in Lansing are culpable, reprehensible, immoral.

Is that a threat to "turn information over to law enforcement"?

How pathetic that the good things unions brought are being tossed as you go after what you consider the bad. I hope you never have to depend on educators to teach your child, medicare for your parents, social security, wages that can't support a family or dependents, bargaining for conditions, etc. Perhaps you should listen to some of the stories from the people who lived through the depression, through the evils unions did eliminate, through crises where there was or is no insurance and no resources. However, that might necessitate an empathy you seem to lack. Age and maturity are necessary elements of any job or the desire to do what is right. I hope that when you have aged, you will have gained some maturity and an understanding that you helped create a catastrophe for our state.

March 2011

Monday, the 14-----board of appeals today: told by the 3 people on the board that the assessor told them the state did away with all agriculture designations and that taxes on now residential unimproved would be the same anyway. of course, i believed that so came home to call the man who farms dad's north fields who also has farmland in atlas (his still is ag--he checked tax sheets) and he said he'd heard of someone who went in recently to get his no longer ag back to ag. when i returned to the township office the assessor was talking to the board and then to me: naturally it was a computer problem for me and at least 10 others, and i believed that too. according to her ALL the ag in the township disappeared--do you see anything wrong with this story? all except mr jelinek's? anyway, a new sheet was run with the 100% ag back on. i know the state, township and davison schools need $ and i would have been glad to pay more if that had been the case. and do you believe that?

15th-----one of the appeals people also applied for the trustee replacement. 12 people did. the 4 council people came up with their list of those to interview. surprise that ammon was among them--he accused of intentionally destroying the computer or hard drive when he lost supervisor election and replaced by a woman. horrors. actually i was told the trustee resigning had the computer/drive at his house and destroyed it. and that all the council knew. now why was this never pursued? it was discussed at a meeting either dec or jan following elections when the lawyer was present. it is obvious the remaining 3 want ammon. he is the supervisor who told me (karas suggested i ask him) that ag land from dad could never remain ag. odd that the lapeer conservation group was able to send me in the right direction and that the lawyer was able to submit papers and get it transferred.

Master Gardener meeting last night the 17th with Peter Bray from East MI Environmental Action Council. he suggested beans and peas for adding nitrogen to the soil and cutting the plants off at the end of the growing season to leave nitrogen rich roots in soil. he does use some cover crops too; also he uses beds not row planting. to someone's question about seed he said monsanto's roundup ready beans since 95 or 96 when introduced have now 10 weeds showing resistance, 3 in Mi. (if i got them right, horseweed, ragweed, and giant ragweed) for Bt corn, planting suggestions say 20% non resistant corn should be planted with the Bt so borer can be 20% happy. cute


On monday march 14 i attended the breakfast w/speaker series our 51st district rep puts on to raise $ for his scholarships for schools in his district. but not for davison though since a davison school building is not in his area. i busily took notes as fast as possible. rep scott said in intro remarks that the state is going to create jobs but not in lansing; "you in your community". the weight is on small businesses, it can't be labor intensive, you get to decide where to put $ and what to do to control your destiny, where to invest. the "Idea should be to take away rules" we will be doing that. the speaker was the MI speaker of the house, bolger. pretty good audience and some good questions. see if you see direct answers:


1. the superintendent of grand blanc schools deb hancock asked about the idea that if a school has an equity fund in place, even after cutting expenditures, getting worker concessions, etc, they will have to use all but 15% for new year budget and that 85% will be included as part of their state aid.

answer="the state's desire is to make difficult decisions this year to make things better from
now on, we need jobs to get healthy" (davison schools, may have 5.9 million shortfall, plans
include taking 2.4 million from the districts fund equity to balance the expected state
reductions. see the davison index mar 17)


2. someone named Jones asked about the poor conditions of the roads. he had spoken with the county which gets the same amount of $ as 14 years ago. what can the cities and townships expect?

answer=mi has 19 cents/gallon tax. cars get better mileage and people are buying less gas. what we need is a way to make those people who are using roads but not buying gas pay for the roads.


3. question about medical marijuana law from swartz creek mayor

answer=they will be working on it, he doesn't want to waste time on it but will


4. A man who works with a crisis group on pregnancy asked about the rumor that non profit
organizations were going to be taxed.

answer=no there isn't a plan, bolger thinks, to tax non profits but to lower their tax credits. (notice flint is thinking about charging for some services non profits presently do not pay for)

5. Bonnie who works with the paralyzed vets organization asked if they were ever going to get legislated 7% of contracts going to vets; now getting less than 1/2 % (i don't know anything about this)


6. Grand Blanc councilwoman asked what is the legislature doing about the fact that after serving only 6 years they get life time health care for selves and family. then she asked about brownfield grants being eliminated.

answer=working on that, maybe employers should pay 80% and employee 20%, we are paying for parking. as for brownfields, they may belong in the tax field or a policy committee (no real answer there)


7. A teacher i believe said if 100,000 public employees paid 20% of health care, that should be a lot of money.

answer="all the $ going into the state is taken from someone." maybe there are better health plans than the MEA's (messa i believe is non profit, others may not be not MESSA is used by many school districts now. retirees get other plans most bcbs i think) and "if all state employees took a 401K and no pension the whole budget would be ok".

8. asked by 1 audience member about what the legislature has done to take cuts--they now pay for their parking places. they cut their office budgets by 10%. bolger i believe said he did it by getting rid of the office manager. pay cut supposedly to start may 1


monday: was running errands in davison and ended at kroger where a bright red flint garbage truck pulled in to the north, did a u turn to be heading back out and stopped. out comes an employee with 2 garbage bags. at first i thought maybe he was throwing them in the container by the store but he went in. i watched him and he watched me. i assume they were cans. being a pessimistic and skeptical person i wondered first why was a flint truck there and why cans. could be ones they picked out of garbage of course and maybe flint takes the garbage to the dump north of davison rd. lunch time so they were "free"? 1:51pm truck 4950.

if i weren't planning on going to an anniversary party april 9th, the lowe's webcast pm gardening would be interesting. lowes.com/webcast on april 9 9am pst.

from the winter 2011 ACLU Rights Review: "Michigan law requires that children as young as 14 charged with certain felonies must be tried as adults and if convicted, sentenced, without judicial discretion, to life without parole. The US is the only country in the world that sentences youth to life without parole, and Michigan incarcerates the second highest number of people serving life sentences without parole for crimes committed when they were 17 years old or younger. Currently there are 350 individuals serving mandatory life sentences in Michigan without parole who did not commit murder, but were present or committed a felony when a homicide was committed by others." p 7


ben and i did aldi's on the 24th and even though it is low cost, low service, this was the first time i was told to take my receipt off the register. very odd. well, thinking positively, maybe the cashier didn't want to have germs from his hand on the receipt. must be it. and we were charged with 9 condensed milk instead of 8; on the positive the pepperoni pizza there is good, mama cozi's or something similar. would be nice if WHERE the items come from appeared on all packages and cans. holland i might trust but this packed for stuff is not acceptable, nor distributed by. i once checked on line at the aldi site and found nothing. could try again. . .

February finds

march family circle: quotations to think about

How wonderful is it that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world. (Anne Frank)
I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. (Maya Angelou)
Beauty comes from a life well lived. If you've lived well, your smile lines are in the right places, and your frown lines aren't too bad. What more do you need? (Jennifer Garner)
Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world. (Harriet Tubman)
The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. (Eleanor Roosevelt)

Book to buy: Week-by-Week Vegetable Gardener's Handbook

cool looking carrots--purple, orange and white

Site to visit: www.NestWatch.org and www.michaelbluejay.com


Gardening to look forward to soon:
1 start plants in toilet paper rolls--just keep out of beagle's reach
2 try the string/twine in a funnel idea or even cut milk carton
3 old shower curtain in vehicle for plant purchases and other dirty tasks
4 take photos of plants, put on envelope for seeds at season's end; this is an easy way to see
what the seed should look like when planted (maybe more than 1 photo necessary)
5 stake tomatoes with 2" pvc pipe. idea from dec 2009 garden gate: hammer down 5' pipe so
4 feet above ground (use board on top) then water can go down the pipe. cap. later plant can
be tied to the pipe
6 put spring clothespin on roses to hold stem when pruning
7 1 ft sections of clay drainage tile on end, filled with soil, for decor around flower beds. can act
as hose guards
8 mark rake or shovel handles with ruler markings--maybe 4 or 6 in increments
9 photos now of trees for pruning later helps you see what needs to be trimmed
10 deer deterrent: 3 eggs blended in 1 qt water, let sit for 24-48 hrs and then spray on plants.
supposedly keeps deer away. how about raccoons?
11 use milky spore powder in soil to help destroy japanese beetles



michigan farmland values 2010 = 1 acre tiled = 3,348 untiled = 2,782
rental 111 84

soybeans est 09/10 = 44 bu/acre
price 9.59/bu

Michigan Farm News feb 15, 2011 p. 2 guest opinion by state senator john moolenaar 26th distrtict: end forced union contracts. this fits nicely with what's happening in wisconsin and the attempt to pass a bill on the fed level to get rid of the national labor relations act. let's hope that some of the crazies to the right realize that what they have is a direct result of labor working to get rights in the 40's and 50's. of course negative results in some areas and bulky benefits did result but a 40 hr week, no unfair dismissals, break time, better working conditions, some health benefits, a growth in the middle class who had money to spend, etc did result. take away minimum salaries, benefits, etc and who is going to buy products? is the right expecting foreign growth to carry sales? is that why factories are gone? cheap goods are great, as long as someone has money. of course the rich will be able to carry the corporations? or is that why the mortgage mess and resulting foreclosures and bankruptcies were allowed to happen--so the rich can take over everything? perhaps the growing ownership of guns should have been prevented long ago. the right supports the right to own arms; will they regret that in the future? will enough people finally get mad enough? or will they be so busy trying to get work, buy food, find somewhere to live, get health care, etc to ignore who is ultimately responsible. the saying that it's your fault you don't have a job or you lost your home no longer applies for many who did do the right things and still got fucked. (let some of the stories about no water breaks in the shops, eat dry oatmeal to quench your thirst, forced overtime, digging under train tracks, digging and striking electrical lines, etc be shared)
"A current problem facing both Michigan taxpayers and businesses are anti-competitive, government-mandated project labor agreements, commonly known as PLAs. These project labor agreements end open, fair, and competitive bidding on construction projects by all qualified contractors. Most commonly, in the case of 'union only' project labor agreements, competition is limited by exclusively awarding construction work to contractors who are signatories to collective bargaining agreements with labor unions for the duration of a project. . . . We can't afford to have 8 out of 10 of our workers sitting on the sidelines, not helping in our economic recovery. . . . . in February, i will introduce 'fair and open competition legislation in the Senate to explicitly protect every contractor regardless of union or non-union affiliation".

michigan farmers--against labor but for subsidies how hypocritical but not surprising

new words: zoonotic, zoonoses = infection transmissible from certebrate animals to humans
arboviruses


medical record sites: health.google.com or healthvault.com/related healthmanager.mayoclinic.com

ben just had me listen to this song:

SkyBladeXD | July 30, 2008 | 3,286 likes, 110 dislikes

If you feel so empty
So used up, so let down
If you feel so angry
So ripped off so stepped on
You're not the only one
Refusing to back down
You're not the only one
So get up

Let's start a riot, a riot
Let's start a riot
Let's start a riot, a riot
Let's start a riot

If you feel so filthy
So dirty so fucked up
If you feel so walked on
So painful so pissed off
You're not the only one
Refusing to go down
You're not the only one
So get up

Let's start a riot, a riot
Let's start a riot
Let's start a riot, a riot
Let's start a riot

If you feel so empty
So used up, so let down
If you feel so angry
Just get up

Let's start a riot, a riot
Let's start a riot
Let's start a riot, a riot
Let's start a riot

february crap

To Our Conservative Friends,

The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution states that "all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and the state wherein they reside."

All too often, illegal immigrants and their liberal supporters are leaving out the "subject to the jurisdiction thereof," qualifier in order to gain citizenship by having a child in this country.

It is imperative that we make a distinction in our Constitution, so that we can begin to tackle our illegal immigration problem. Please take a moment to read this message and learn how you can help stop "anchor babies."

Sincerely,

Alan Gottlieb
Chairman, AmeriPAC


this, above, is from the ameripac group which should be in someone's crosshairs and below another group to watch. other ultra right groups are declaration alliance and patriotupdate. all try to use patriot themes to get readers to join in destroying what many others believe are right, equalizing, real christian values (not the distorted sexist and racist versions against women's rights, justice, equality, civil rights, etc)

URGENT UPDATE:

ObamaCare Death Panels Now In Effect

Kathleen Sebelius, head of the Department of Health & Human Services, has ruled that effective January 1, 2011 – all Medicare & Medicaid doctors will be paid to provide “end of life” counseling to the elderly and/or those younger and poorer patients deemed “infirm” – to help them decide if life is still worth living. All this will be provided yearly, as part of Obama’s new annual, creepily-euphemistically entitled “wellness” checkup.

FAX CONGRESS NOW
END THE DEATH PANELS – SELECT HERE

And Sebelius’ supporters are trying to keep the implementation a secret! Rep. Earl Blumenauer, (D-OR), recently sent supporters of the new rule an e-mail warning them "not to broadcast this accomplishment out to any of your lists, even if they are 'supporters' -- e-mails can too easily be forwarded."

Ms. Sebelius has apparently declared herself dictator and overthrown not only the will of the people, but also that of Congress… issuing secret, death-dealing orders behind closed doors. The ObamaCare bill originally contained provisions for the much derided "Death Panels" designed to persuade, pressure and coerce the elderly and infirm into making life or death decisions only every five years. Yet America overwhelmingly rejected such a provision, and Congress stripped it from the bill before passage. But it seems the eugenics-friendly Ms. Sebelius views her role as encompassing that of the United Nations-sanctioned “population police” who believe the world is overcrowded with what the Nazis notoriously labeled "useless eaters" – or perhaps she just knows there isn’t enough money for the federal government to pay for everyone’s heath care and social security, so she might as well start thinning the human herd now. Either way, Sebelius’ actions are contrary to everything in our first principles of liberty and human equality that this nation stands for, and are in direct violation of the philosophical, ethical and natural law foundations upon which rest our form of responsible self-government.

listened monday to a round table discussion from um flint about the middle east, mostly tunisia and egypt. very interesting to get semi expert facts and opinions about what is and has happened.

thursday meeting--judge spoke for black history month but included info on her background, how she became a judge, politics and the michigan supreme court. she is an excellent speaker.

FEB 13, the unison prayer at church included these relevant lines:

"merciful god, we confess that holiness is far easier to say than it is to do. our words are pious
but mask attitudes of intolerance and judgment. our concern for others is shallow, swallowed
up by our own self-interest. we resort to platitudes of compassion ad care rather than modify
our behavior in order to embrace those who are different or unlovely. this is not holiness...."

i believe this is what certain groups, even church groups, don't believe. they are not doers of
any words that don't profit them, put down others. they flaunt self righteousness in the face
of their blatant hypocrisy. their concern is for themselves, their interests, their businesses,
their biases and prejudices; their souls are hardened pustules of self centered vileness.
let's hope they reap the effects of their sown words.


progressive Feb 15:

a really interesting movie about the children's march in 1963. one of the members was there with her brother who was 1 of the kids jumping out of the school windows although he couldn't easily identify himself--was 15 at that time. the family had moved from georgia to alabama to get good jobs. the dad in industry and the mom to teach but the city charged $100 to accept her teaching certificate from GA which was too much. the city was described as "evil" for blacks and for many poor whites. good old bull connor was the anti hero of course; kennedy clips were "good reminders" of that time

at the same meeting dave davenport from the city council put in a raucous negative appearance saying he was there to get help and was sorry he came, blah blah, as if he had been told to come for some other reason. also a man from the chamber of council who had been invited and also had a different agenda. both could have been served at a later meeting, but davenport fortunately left. a good example of not knowing how to win people over.






progressive meeting on Feb 16:

looks like if it's been done before and didn't work, it never will. trying to build coalitions among groups but trying to get a list of possible speakers for a round table was extremely aggravating. asking people for sponsor donations: well don't ask him because, i don't want him . . . the whole experience was like the poem line "somebody said it couldn't be done..." obviously it never worked and never can but we want unity. hey: "somebody said it couldn't be done but he with a chuckle replied that maybe it couldn't but he would be one who wouldn't say so til he tried" (memory poem from 5th grade, wish i knew it all)

screw the educators

"Gov. Snyder has called on all of us to work collaboratively," said Doug Pratt, MEA's director of public affairs. "But these attacks seem like 'business as usual' in Lansing. Attacking public employees isn't productive and won't lead to meaningful education reform. We are offering solutions to help the entire state--and we hope lawmakers will, too."

Here's an overview of some of the bills introduced to date:

• Senate Bill 0007 would prohibit public employers from paying more than 80 percent of the total cost of the medical benefit plans (including medical, dental, and optical) for employees. Public employers with health savings account plans could pay up to 90 percent of the cost. The implementation date in the bill is Jan. 1, 2013, and any contracts in effect at that time would be honored until the expiration date of the contract. The legislation would apply to all union employees, non-union employees, and elected officials covered by the public employer’s medical benefit plans. The sponsor is Sen. Mark Jansen, R- Gaines Township. This measure may require a change to the state constitution, which has been introduced as Senate Joint Resolution C, also sponsored by Jansen.

• Senate Joint Resolution B would place a constitutional revision before voters to cut public employee pay by 5 percent and freeze that rate for three years. The resolution will require a 2/3 majority vote in each chamber. Sen. John Pappageorge, R-Troy, is the sponsor.

• House Bill 4052 would amend the Public Employment Relations Act (PERA) to prohibit public employees or their unions from using any school facilities or equipment for union activities. The sponsor is Rep. Al Pscholka, R-Stevensville.

• House Bill 4054 would amend PERA to allow public schools and other governmental entities to create a "Right to Work Zone" by a vote of the governing body. The sponsor is Rep. Marty Knollenberg, R-Troy.

• Â House Bill 4059 would prohibit release time for union officers or bargaining representatives to conduct union business if the release time is paid for by the public employer. Knollenberg is the sponsor.

• House Bill 4128 would prohibit a department, board, or commission from setting a rule or standard on workplace ergonomics. The sponsor is Rep. Bradford Jacobsen, R-Oxford.

• House Bill 4139 would require public employers to conduct beneficiary eligibility audits to determine whether dependents covered by public employees' health insurance plans are eligible for benefits. The sponsor is Rep. Tim Melton, D-Auburn Hills.

• House Bill 4140 would create a state-run health insurance plan for public employees. This proposal would cost $870 million to set up and would not guarantee any savings. Melton is the sponsor.

• House Bill 4141 would create a new state commission of political appointees to study consolidation of non-instructional services in all public schools. Based on the recommendations, the state could then order service consolidation. Melton is the sponsor.

• House Bill 4142 would amend tenure law. Probationary teachers rated ineffective would not earn tenure. Tenured teachers rated "ineffective" for two consecutive years may have to serve another four-year probationary period. Melton is the sponsor.

In addition to these so-called "reforms," Rep. Tom McMillin, R-Rochester Hills, introduced House Bill 4019 to remove the cap on the number of university-authorized public charter academies. The current cap is 150. The bill would also remove the restriction on how many charter schools any one university could authorize.

MEA strongly encourages lawmakers to review the association's A+ Agenda (available online at www.mea.org/A+), which features multiple proven strategies to improve student and school achievement and increase accountability for all in public education.

Jan 2011

In 1970 the ratio of top 100 corporate CEO's and the average worker's pay was 40 to 1. Bt 2007 it was 1723 to 1.

17.7 million of 22 million to pass anti-gay marriage legislation in CA was contributed by 59000 Mormon families, God love them all.

The White Nationalist Community attempts to hide racism. Visit site and maybe find song lyrics "A Warrior Does Not Return Without Blood on his Axe, The arrival of lower races has begun. . ."

"They're sluts (unmarried teen parents). In my parents day and age, they were sent away, they were shunned, they were called what they are." Colorado State Rep Larry Liston at a GOP lunch.

check to verify


Dogs are our link to paradise. They don't know evil or jealousy or discontent. To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring--it was peace. Milan Kundera

If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you; that is the principal difference between a dog and a man. Mark Twain

Michigan farm news paper

the jan 15 issue is again a good example of groups/people for cuts except for them. the front page laments the reorganization of the college of ag and natural resources since ag is SO important. other cuts of course are ok. however, one of the letters to the editor did point this out--surprising that it was printed. according to mr stroven "the people of this country have spoken up against out-of-control gov spending. yet you act like any other special interest group in thinking that everyone else should take a spending cut, but yours is too important. . . . farm bureau has become just another spoke in the wheel of promoting big gov socialism." mr stroven has "never participated in the farm bill welfare system of farm subsidies" and has never gone to bed hungry.

nice that he points out the tendency of many to want $ only for themselves.

same issue: US court of appeals in san francisco issued a ruling"that puts on hold a judge's order to dig up 256 acres of biotech sugar beet seedlings. biotech beets are grown on 1.3 million acres in 10 states. the judge said the usda improperly granted permission for the beets to be planted because a detailed environmental review was not conducted". on the same p 1, there is an article about the usda releasing biotech alfalfa environmental impact statement.

oh great, another biotech grain for us all to have put in our foods.

but the best from the back page: "Weed resistance is a growing problem. and regardless of where you farm and what weed control product you use, a single herbicide mode-of-action is simply no longer adequate to protect your yields and long-term profitability."

from the folks at roundup.

feeling better already, aren't you?