County Party Elections

by: Nazgul35

Tue Nov 11, 2008 at 00:07:55 AM EST

These can be very important as having the wrong person in charge can make your work much more difficult than it needs to be, something of a tradition here in Saginaw County of late it seems.

Be sure you check out your local party's rules and dates and get your butt over to the meeting and chart a course for your local party that doesn't promote the idiots who do nothing but sit around and complain all year.

The work for 2010 began Wednesday, Nov. 5th.

Let's build on what we have achieved by electing county party officials who "get it."

Some goals for 2010:

1) Keep the state House
2) Retain the Governorship
3) Take over the state Senate

These three things alone will allow us to redistrict the state to reflect the more blue nature of Michigan.

4) Take over the Attorney General and SOS slots. Mike Cox has been a disaster, and he wants to do the same as Governor.

5) Defeat the usual number of wingnut ballot initiatives that will find their way onto the ballot

6) Promote progressive ballot initiatives if the legislature fails to act

These are just a few of the things we need to lay the ground work for.

Enjoy you week vacation?

Good...now back to work!

>:>

A Note About Race

by: Nazgul35

Sat Nov 08, 2008 at 20:08:58 PM EST

While I agree that it was an important step, it is, however, only the first step.

Racism is still prevalent in the United States as witnessed by the KKKnuckle head that marched around Midland on Wednesday morning.

As long as stupidity is allowed to flourish, there will be Clansmen and Neo-Nazis.

The reason I think we need to pause for a second is that President-elect Obama is the equivalent of Jackie Robinson. Anyone who knows that history of Mr. Robinson's trek through baseball, knows that it was decades before the openly racists cat calls from the stands, the questions about African-American athlete's intelligence to progress upwards, sportscaster's comments on genetics, etc. finally stopped being accepted and are no considered idiotic.

America took an important first step last Tuesday, but let's not convince ourselves that race as an issue in America is solved.

All we did was take the white's only sign off of the White House...it will take decades to remove the idea that people of different races are inherently inferior to whites from being something that is acceptable to say openly.

You only have to read some of the comments from the Sarah Palin crowd to understand this...

Saginaw County - It's good to be a Democrat edition

by: Nazgul35

Wed Nov 05, 2008 at 22:35:42 PM EST

Turnout for the county was strong, clocking in at 66%. Obama hit 57.8% of the vote, Levin clocked in with 66%.

Democrats kicked two of the more idiotic Republicans off the county commission, going from a 9-6 majority to an 11-4 majority by beating Ray Bartels and Tom Basil.

Our two new county commissioners are grass roots heroes Judy Lincoln and John McColgan.

All other state wide Dems won in a walk, retaining an all Democratic group.

Buena Vista Township dumped the lone Republican from the trustee group, with special note to another up and coming Democrat, 27 year-old Greg Dietrich, winning the most votes of the four Democrats.

The two state proposals pulled in 56% and 57% respectively.

Saginaw Township, a true swing area, was a bit of a disappointment for Obama. Except for two of the sixteen precincts, which hit the high 60s percent, Obama was neck and neck with McCain.

This is an area of improvement that we will need to work on, but if 2006 is any indication, Sag Twnp seems to be pro-incumbent and anti-suckie candidate (ie Dick DeVos), so there might not be much work to do for 2012.

Election Day Diary

by: Nazgul35

Tue Nov 04, 2008 at 08:19:59 AM EST

What was turnout like?

Where there any problems?

Any shenanigans to report? If so, call the Obama folks, they want to know toot sweet!

1-877-US-4-OBAMA (1-877-874-6226) This is their voter protection hotline.

Democrat Rose Bogardus puts the cart before the horse

by: Kathy

Thu Oct 30, 2008 at 13:57:46 PM EDT

County Commissioner Rose Bogardus, D-Davison, voted Wednesday to spend more than $6,500 on new furniture for the office she hopes to win in Tuesday's election.

But not enough fellow commissioners saw the urgency and one suggested it was presumptuous to buy furniture Bogardus wants when she's not been elected and voters have a choice in Republican Fredrick Wilson. [...]

Wilson has said he's an extreme longshot to win, but said commissioners should keep the $6,500 for a rainy day.

"Just put the old furniture back," said Wilson, who advocates a quick merger of the county clerk and register of deeds offices. "We're all pinching pennies. ... All you need is a decent chair and a desk."

I agree with Wilson. What's wrong with using the old furniture? And if an item really needs replacing, surely there's something lying around in a storage room that could be put to good use.

Ironically, the article mentioned that Wilson advocates merging the county clerk and register of deeds office, which was one of Bogardus' pledges during the primary too.  Both candidates felt it would be a good cost-saving measure, although their timetables for accomplishing that should have been a tip off to voters that one candidate was more sincere than the other.

But while Bogardus would finish the four-year term preparing for the transition, Wilson said he would be willing to step aside earlier and let a three-member county panel appoint the clerk to oversee the office in a matter of months, saving the register's $80,000-plus annual salary and benefits.

Bogardus called that idea a gimmick, "flat-out silly."

Sorry, Rose. I call it flat-out silly and hypocritical for you to promise voters cost-saving measures and then turn around and vote to spend $6500 dollars on new furniture. Get real. You may be a Democrat in a county that hasn't elected a Republican to office in decades, but that doesn't mean you should take our votes for granted. Wilson could end up winning and making history at the same time - and he's willing to settle for a decent chair and desk.

(Cross-posted at BFM.)

AMERICAN SOCIALISM: The Giant Awakens

by: Maryscott O'Connor

Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 10:42:07 AM EDT

Whenever I hear the old joke, "He was born on third base but thinks he hit a triple," I cringe a little, because I immediately think of the inverse -- of the millions of people who are born with two strikes against them.  

Lately I cringe when I hear the ludicrous charge being leveled against Barack Obama: that he intends to apply socialist policies in the United States. The charge is ludicrous because he does not intend such a thing -- not because socialism is ludicrous. To the contrary.  

Here is another thing that makes me cringe:

Voters Should be Patient, Cautious, Persistent

by: Petrolcide

Thu Oct 30, 2008 at 16:50:10 PM EDT

Not only are there concerns about the massive voter registration efforts by the Obama campaign and organizations such as ACORN, but there already existed understaffed and misinformed polling places and workers, particularly in urban areas, as well as the typical voter intimidation and suppression efforts by Republicans. Combine these issues with Michigan's voter ID law, and the possibility exists for massive backups and confusion as we approach 8pm on election night. For these reasons, it may take longer than expected to receive results.

Some examples below...

League of Women to Address Clean Energy

by: Petrolcide

Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 12:08:43 PM EDT

Energy for heating homes is critical to every individual and every family. We should not have to choose between having a warm home or having warm showers (a choice that people in other countries unfortunately have to make), or whether we can afford to put a well balanced meal on the table because the cost of heat is at least half the cost of your rent.

Though these days many of us feel fortunate to not be stuck with a home we cannot afford to own, the anticipated price of heating costs has everyone scrambling for solutions. But this is just the tip of the iceberg. Clearly, other energy issues exist and its important not to be short-sighted, and instead look at long term options that are not only cheap, but are environmentally and family friendly...

A third choice in the 50th House District

by: Kathy

Mon Oct 27, 2008 at 13:08:28 PM EDT

Jim Slezak might have won my party's primary for Michigan's 50th House district, but he has done nothing to demonstrate, or even describe, how he believes in traditional Democratic Party values.

He received support from the Flint Area Right-to-Life during the primary race.

Beyond that, he has resisted all attempts to answer specific questions about what exactly he plans to do to help Michigan if he is elected.

On September 25, he had been invited to speak by local party volunteers to a group of undecided voters. After a long-winded speech, he left most of the listeners scratching their heads. He spoke endlessly about how much he loved his family, but said very little about what he actually stands for. In fact, after double-checking with several who attended the meeting, nobody can remember Mr. Slezak stating a single policy stance or solution to our growing problems here in Michigan.

In fact, when one man asked Mr. Slezak for an example of how he would bring jobs to Michigan, Mr. Slezak said that he had plans, but he was unable to share them publicly, because the last time he shared one of his plans publicly it was stolen. Is he serious? Are the voters really to believe that Mr. Slezak is full of exciting ideas for a Michigan renaissance, but they're "Top Secret"?

Jim Slezak is taking my vote and the vote of other Democrats for granted. He assumes that since he has won the primary, that since the district has traditionally voted Democratic in the past, that he can coast until the election.

Dodging the issues and refusing to share plans publicly hardly inspires confidence, especially since Slezak has never held public office. Kevin McKague is a former Davison City Council member.

Slezak doesn't even have a website outlining his positions on the issues. Correction. He has a one page website that simply says, "Vote Jim Slezak, Michigan State Representative 50th District. Very enlightening.  

MI-98: Gary Glenn circulates ugly e-mail about Lewis

by: Eric B.

Mon Oct 27, 2008 at 11:51:50 AM EDT

(Cross-posted to Michigan Liberal)

Gary Glenn is a class act.

“More important things are on people’s minds” than her personal life, Garnet Lewis, Democratic candidate for the 98th District state House seat, said Friday after seeing an e-mailed statement that, if elected, she’d be Michigan’s first openly lesbian representative in history.

Kudos to the reporter for leading his story with Garnet Lewis' very reasoned, adult answer to an e-mail that Gary Glenn has been circulating around Saginaw and Midland counties.  Also, kudos to Garnet Lewis for not backing down on who she is ... like ever. If you'd like, you can show support for her bravery in standing up to agents of intolerance by slipping her a few extra bucks.

I realize everyone's first instinct is to slam the newspaper from covering what should be a non-issue.  Alas, the paper in this case didn't have much choice.  Midland is traditionally conservative, and conservative enough that the Mackinac Center for Public Policy and swine like Gary Glenn find a nice, comfortable home there.  There could be a sizable number of people there stupid enough to say, "Well, I'd vote for her because I think she offers fresh and insightful ideas, but she is Teh Ghey, so I'll opt with More of the Same."

By the way, you can read Gary Glenn defending this down in comments under the story (I don't think they have a way to permalink individual ones, or else I would).  Not only does he read Teh Ghey Agenda into anti-bullying legislation, but he also spends a lot of time on what he calls "homosexual activist websites nationwide."

The Downside to Political Action Committees

by: Petrolcide

Fri Oct 24, 2008 at 10:52:11 AM EDT

Karma

by: Nazgul35

Thu Oct 23, 2008 at 10:08:17 AM EDT

Just to name a few...

This rot that has destroyed the modern Republican party can be laid directly at the feet of Karl Rove and Newt Gingrich. The rule of the Bush administration is, contrary to their protestations on the subject, the direct result of conservative ideology.

Now, as a growing number of polls predict a landslide election of epic proportions, Republicans are scrambling just to stay afloat and not be relegated to second class status for a generation.

Should the obvious happen on election day...when you take to your drink and whatever form of solace you choose to indulge in, remember this simple fact:

Your chickens have come home to roost.

You brought this all on yourselves. You have two options:

1) Go further into your wingnuttiness and continued to play slash and burn politics at the expense of the welfare of this country...

or

2) Be adults and take a serious look at why your ideologies have been a complete and utter failure at every level of government.

And no, the answer is not "cut more taxes."

It appears, my Republican friends, that the American public are about to give you a well earned "Time Out."

What you do with it could determine if we have a healthy functioning two party system or Democratic party dominance for another forty plus years...

The choice is yours.

Palin & Gunshots: Deafening Silence

by: Maryscott O'Connor

Mon Oct 20, 2008 at 17:35:50 PM EDT

I don't know what disturbs me more: the Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Sarah Palin appearance I've now watched over half a dozen times, or the collective cognitive dissonance that overtook the national media -- and, apparently, almost everyone in America -- with respect to that appearance.

No, I did not find it -- or, needless to say, Sarah Palin -- charming. Certainly not "hilarious." Yes, she does, demonstrably, have "rhythm." No, the fact that she was able to be a "good sport" and appear on a television program that has been skewering her for weeks does not raise her in my esteem one single iota. And no, that sketch did not make me smile. It in fact made me want to vomit.

Where is my sense of humour, you ask? Am I, in fact, a dour liberal determined to glower through November 4th? What exactly is my fucking problem? Glad you asked -- if, in fact, you asked. Yeah, I've got a couple of problems...

Faculty strike averted at CMU ... for the time being

by: Eric B.

Wed Oct 15, 2008 at 18:19:13 PM EDT

The unionized professors and the university have agree to extend the contract to Oct. 24, "with the possibility of a longer contract extension, to allow the parties to continue working on the
details of a new agreement," said the statement from FA spokesman Bill Dailey and CMU spokesman Steve Smith. "Classes will go forward as regularly scheduled."

What do you say Governor Palin?

by: Nazgul35

Thu Oct 16, 2008 at 22:15:35 PM EDT

I'd like to hear you answer her question...

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