Global Warming Debate Loser Bans Winner From Website

Talk about sore loser. NewsBusters (on a serious roll today, I might add), posted a global warming debate a few days ago. I watched it but didn't post on it as there were minor players involved. It's not like the Goreacle got his clock cleaned (Algore refuses to debate for good reason). Here was the first video with the debate beginning at the 3:45 mark (spare yourselves some boredom):

Here's the second and final video:

Sen James Inhofe's (R-Ok.) former communications director, Marc Morano, debated and clocked Climate Progress's Joe Romm on matters relating to the global warming myth. I figured that was the end of the story. I was wrong.

Today over at NewsBusters: Debate Loser Romm: No More Morano Posts at Climate Progress. Here's the gist: In today's That's the Funniest Thing I've Ever Heard moment, the loser of March 27's global warming debate, climate alarmist extraordinaire Joe Romm, has taken his defeat like a man: he's officially banned from his Climate Progress website any articles by the victor, Marc Morano.

Attaboy, Joe!

Not only that, Romm actually made the banning official in a CP posting Tuesday (I'm not kidding):

...I will not be linking to his website nor will I allow any links to his website to appear on this blog. It is conceivable that circumstances might arise where I refer to something Swift boat smearer Marc Morano has written, but I can’t imagine them right now. ...

Ouch! Not only that, but he excused his total defeat with - ahum - grace:

Yes, I did debate Swift Boat smearer Morano recently – but I was filling in at the last minute as a favor. As readers know, I believe such debates are pointless if not counterproductive, since we have known for 25 centuries that debates are not won on the facts but by who is a better debater, which is to say, who understands the principles of rhetoric (see “Why scientists aren’t more persuasive, Part 2: Why deniers out-debate “smart talkers” and “Voodoo Economists 4: The idiocy of crowds or, rather, the idiocy of (crowded) debates“). In particular, it is very hard to win a debate against someone who just repeatedly makes stuff up.

NewsBusters rightly points out that people that make stuff up are inherently easier to defeat than those that don't. It's easy to say that someone makes stuff up, it's another to show it. He can obviously do no such thing.

U of Maryland: Thumbs Up to Porn, Thumbs Down to Prayer

I kid you not. After a multitude of posts regarding clear indications of moral decline, this is but a small link in a long, long chain. Here's the latest from NewsBusters:

The University of Maryland recently decided that prayer is not allowed during commencement addresses, but pornographic films are allowed on campus. University officials cited “academic free speech” as the reason to allow the film. Occurring nearly simultaneously, both incidents have garnered extensive media coverage. The question is, will the media question the University’s inconsistency in applying First Amendment principles?

Uh - no. No they won't. Need I remind everyone of the actual written words of the First Amendment?:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

If free exercise of religion cannot be prohibited by the U.S. Congress, how is the University of Maryland able to accomplish such a feat? Yeah - I know all about judicial fiat, but could the founders have made their intentions any more plain??? I sure don't think so. The article continues:

In an arbitrary sweep of political power, the University of Maryland Senate voted to eradicate the practice of prayer at graduation ceremonies.

"Arbitrary sweep of power" is about right. Of course, the "separation of church and state" canard was trotted out by the faculty like a hostage in a terrorist camp, clad in the orange jumpsuit. The other side of the coin in this article is the double-standard regarding porn. And who do you think is involved? Read this:

One half hour of the film, “Pirates II: Stagnetti’s Revenge” was screened on campus on April 6 along with a panel discussion about safe sex, featuring a representative from Planned Parenthood.

The usual suspects... So ends another episode of "Free-Speech for ME, But Not for Thee!"

An Update on the Obamamobile

I mentioned this morning that GM's new CEO, Barack Obama, wants us to drive what appears to be less than a go-cart. (GM's CEO Wants Us to Drive These) The entire blogosphere has been abuzz over the unveiling. So much so that a few photoshopped images crossed my screen that I couldn't resist but to post here:

HT: moonbattery

HT: The Other McCain

DPS in the News

Not much good to report on the nations worst school district - the poster child for the need for school vouchers. First, from the DetNews: State approves DPS deficit reduction plan, advance payments.

State officials have approved the Detroit Public Schools deficit reduction plan and its request for early release of April and May state school aid payments.

The only plus here is that Robert Bobb (Bob^2) seems to be kicking some butt over at DPS. And there is a LOT of booty to kick around. More:

Flanagan said the state's Department of Education approves the district's 2008-09 budget, a long-term deficit reduction plan and actions Bobb is taking to address the district's deficit, which could hit $300 million this year.

Uh - it's $306 million and counting. Don't expect it to stay that low either. Not with top-to-bottom incompetence throughout. A sister article to that one also appeared in the freep, and this one was all bad: DPS student tells mayor, 'I'm basically scared for my life'.

Students at Osborn High School told Mayor Kenneth Cockrel Jr. today that they fear getting shot or jumped by gangs.

Cockrel visited the school as part of a listening tour on school violence. The meeting -- the fourth in a series -- came just days after a school social worker tackled a boy who allegedly brought a sawed-off shotgun into another Detroit school.

So even with the finances possibly on the way up, the culture is still on its way down. Maybe instead of a school 'violence' tour, the temp mayor can go on a school 'voucher' tour and, instead of talking to kids trapped in failing schools, can release them to greener pastures. That's assuming, of course, that those green pastures survive the agent orange that the Obama administration is dumping on the proven success of vouchers in other failing schools. Isn't this all supposed to be about educating the children in the end???

Previously:
DPS Officials Thumbing Their Noses at Bob^2?
The DPS Debacle Continues
Less Than 12 Hours Later, The DPS Fighting Begins
Oh SNAP! DPS now $306 million in the hole!
DPS to Granholm: "Uh - Now What Do We Do?"
Bob^2 to teach DPS about Corruption
DPS: "Hey buddy, can you spare $162 Million?"
Bob^2 Trying to Drain DPS Swamp
DPS may owe $36 million more
More on DPS - None of It Good
Shock! - Ex-DPS official files federal whistleblower lawsuit
Bob^2, DPS to Get Undeserved Windfall
Throwing money into the DPS hole
Bob^2 starts tally of DPS troubles
Bob^2 says: DPS deficit larger than thought
Bob Bobb (Bob^2) on a mission to save DPS
Non-Shocker of the Morning - Former DPS Head Calloway: Detroit School Board Corrupt!
DetNews: Bring 'Marine Corps' of teachers to Detroit schools
DPS to good teachers - GET OUT OF OUR SWAMP!!!
Duh! - DPS fails kids, fed school chief says
freep: DPS may need payday loans

Obama Faith-Based Advisor: Knights of Columbus Are 'An Army of Oppression'

How many kooks is Obama nominating to important and secondary posts? Apparently, all of them. Yet another in this line is Harry Knox, director of the "religion and faith program" of the gay-left Human Rights Campaign. That's right - a homosexual activist. Talk about the apple rotting from the inside out. Knox believes the current Pope of the Roman Catholic Church to be discredited because of his opposition to gay marriage. Nice. But there's more on this kook, as NewsBusters reports:

On March 19, Knox told the San Francisco-based gay newspaper The Bay Area Reporter, "The Knights of Columbus do a great deal of good in the name of Jesus Christ, but in this particular case [Proposition 8], they were foot soldiers of a discredited army of oppression."

This from a guy in league with gay mobs running McCarthyistic campaigns against donors of Proposition 8, who are quite ironically foot soldiers of a discredited army of oppression. (Wasn't this known as McCarthyism?; McCarthyism in 2009)

The article goes on:

....According to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Web site, the religion and faithprogram run by Knox has created “a weekly preaching resource that provides scriptural commentary to ministers and lay people interested in an ecumenical gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender perspective on the Bible."

The site further states that the program has set a goal of doing “faith-based transgender education in 40 diverse congressional districts across the country. Clergy participating in the program will take their congregants to Capitol Hill on May 4 and 5 as part of the ‘2009 Clergy Call for Justice and Equality,’” an event sponsored by the HRC.

Yikes! Who are these people??? Here's what Knox's purported foot soldiers typically look like.

Speaking of "intellectually disabled"...

Pigs Save Lives - PETA Not Happy

From the USA Today via the freep: Military used pigs in blasts to test armor. From the article:

Military researchers have dressed live pigs in body armor and strapped them into Humvee simulators that were then blown up with explosives to study the link between roadside bomb blasts and brain injury.

For an 11-month period that ended in December, researchers subjected pigs and rats to about 200 blasts, according to Pentagon documents and interviews. The explosions have ranged in intensity, wounding some of the pigs and killing others. Roadside bombs are the top killer of U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. ...

"If use of animal subjects in testing results in our ability to save lives or prevent injury to our troops, we're confident this is the right thing to do," Walker (spokeswoman for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA) said.

Of course, some are simply not happy with this. Enter Martin Stephens, vice president for animal research issues at the Humane Society of the United States. Even though pigs have certain organs that are physiologically similar to humans, that's simply not good enough for Stephens. The article ends with this:

Stephens called on the Pentagon to end testing on pigs. "Is this the best they can do after several years of losing soldiers to roadside bombs?" he said.

U.S. car companies used live animals, including pigs, for crash tests until the early 1990s. They stopped after protests from animal rights groups, such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

Yeah - good 'ol PETA. The #1 Killer of Adoptable Pets. Nice. Thanks for looking out for the soldiers and those that drive cars. I wonder - what did they do with all the pigs afterwards? I have an idea for them if they don't already do this:

Oakland Press: Government causing ‘moral’ decay in U.S.

I kid you not. this was in the liberal Oakland Press. How this got through the liberal filter over there is unknown, but there it was nonetheless. The opinion was written by Walter Williams, a professor of economics at George Mason University. From that opinion piece, Walter had this to say:

Most of our nation’s great problems, including our economic problems, have as their root decaying moral values.

Whether we have the stomach to own up to it or not, we have become an immoral people left with little more than the pretense of morality.

Do you believe that it is moral and just for one person to be forcibly used to serve the purposes of another?

And, if that person does not peaceably submit to being so used, do you believe that there should be the initiation of some kind of force against him?

Neither question is complex and can be answered by either a yes or no.

Of course, the correct answer is no and no, even if some would argue that it is not so clear cut. (Walter put academics specifically in this group. As an academic, I'm not amongst them) As a matter of simple fact, it is. One thing that Walter does not bring up is why our society has decayed in moral standing. I have some ideas on that, and wrote a post some time ago on the topic. (The decline of moral values) Briefly, though - the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics. That simple. In any case, the post goes on and Walt ends with this:

Unfortunately, there is no way out of our immoral quagmire.

The reason is now that the U.S. Congress has established the principle that one American has a right to live at the expense of another American, it no longer pays to be moral.

People who choose to be moral and refuse congressional handouts will find themselves losers. They’ll be paying higher and higher taxes to support increasing numbers of those paying lower and lower taxes.

As it stands now, close to 50 percent of income earners have no federal income tax liability and as such, what do they care about rising income taxes?

In other words, once legalized theft begins, it becomes too costly to remain moral and self-sufficient. You might as well join in the looting, including the current looting in the name of stimulating the economy.

Indeed. Read the whole thing as Walter goes into slavery and partial ownership by others of our most precious property - ourselves. Again, I am shocked not by the opinion, which we Conservatives call "basic common sense," but by the fact that this opinion piece made it into the Oakland Press.

They Have an ACORN Problem in Nicaragua Too

I read a story over at WND yesterday about a young woman being persecuted for wanting free elections in Nicaragua. Apparently, that in and of itself is a death sentence. Or at least brutal torture. What struck me most in the article, other than this poor woman's plight, was how this campaign of intimidation takes place. From the WND article:

Nicaragua President Daniel Ortega has employed neighborhood committees called Citizens Power Councils, or CPCs, used by his corrupt Sandinista party to spy on citizens,intimidate and torture them.

So what we apparently have here is community organizers that go out and intimidate the populace. Uh - how is ACORN here different, other than the fact that they don't torture you? At least, not yet?

MSM Editor Teaches Hypocrisy 101

I've mentioned Bonnie Erbe before. She of the "We're in Recession - Have an Abortion" fame. Erbe also compared eating meat and making veal to partial birth abortion on November 3, 1995. In addition, on March 29, 1997, she also accused conservatives of not caring about life. On a related matter, Erbe, a pro-abort ghoul, thinks it's morally wrong to eat meat. Because - you know - that's sooo consistent. In any case, Erbe holds firm that Jesus was a vegan, even though the Bible contradicts that statement several times. NewsBusters, in a separate piece, says that Bonnie Erbe has her own personal PETA-friendly Jesus. On to today's bit of Erbe hypocrisy and ghoulishness. Newsbusters reports:

Well, ladies and gentlemen, our favorite abortion-mongering, Pope-bashing, radical feminist is at it again. This time she's caterwauling about how deadly your right to keep and bear arms is.

Guns do kill people, screams the PBS "To the Contrary" host who denies abortion, well, kills people.

You may stop abortion when you pull the forceps from Bonnie Erbe's cold dead hands, but she thinks that your hands shouldn't be anywhere near "assault weapons."

Ouch. NewsBusters are on their game today, absolutely skewering Erbe with her own words. Here is what Erbe had to say about the recent Pittsburgh shooting that left 3 police officers dead:

It's time America came to its senses again on gun control. Seven officers of the law being mowed down in two weeks is too many. Any is too many. But if you listen to the NRA, guns don't kill people, people kill people. Could Poplawski have killed these Pittsburgh police without all his sophisticated weaponry? Heck no!

With her pro-abort position, doesn't that just sound hypocritical? Don't we in the pro-life community say about the murder of babies that "any is too many?" Why, yes we do! Anyway, NewsBusters goes on with this comparison:

Remember, this from a woman who is so pro-abortion, she detests waiting periods, parental consent requirements, and requiring pre-abortion ultrasounds:

"To require them to have an ultrasound prior to an abortion is the most invasive type of moralistic lecture imaginable. Some state laws would even require poor women to pay for them, which would put the cost of abortion beyond their meager reach.

The überright has already succeeded in throwing so many obstacles in the path of women trying to end unwanted pregnancies: 24-hour waiting periods, parental consent laws, and so on. Required ultrasounds are a step too far. "Offered" ultrasounds are insulting, too. In my humble opinion, both are completely unconstitutional."

Yet if you asked Erbe if she favors waiting periods for gun purchases, raising the minimum age at which you can buy a firearm, and making gun purchasers watch a video from a gun control group, it's safe to say that she'd sign on to each of those measures as "common sense gun control."

O-U-C-H! Bullseye. Slam dunk. Hit the nail on the head. The fastener at it's apex. Etc.

Obama Jumps At Gun Salute in Turkey (Video)

Yipes! Can't see W ever doing such a thing. HT: Gateway Pundit, which adds this:

Hang in there, partner.

Justifying the Unjust

I saw this video over at Gateway Pundit. Also up over at moonbattery this morning. The setup from GP:

FOX News Host Chris Wallace set this up nicely-Colorado Governor Bill Ritter Jr. defended cutting millions of dollars from higher education. In the next breath says he will grant the advantage of in-state tuition to illegal immigrants.The whole exchange took less than 2 minutes.

Ouch!

Dick Morris: Declaration of Independence has been Repealed

Cause. Effect:

HT: moonbattery

Detroit has more registered voters than it has residents

Gee - no kidding. I'm shocked. Shocked I say! Well - in actuality - no. No I'm not. This is the modus operindi in Democrat hegemonies. People that don't exist, the dead, and family pets overwhelmingly vote Democrat you know! From the freep this morning is this headline: No-confidence vote on voter rolls. The only shocking part of the article is that it is written by one very liberal Rochelle Riley. In any case, some snippets:

Detroit election officials confirmed Monday what an analysis of census and population records shows: The city has more registered voters than it has residents over the voting age of 18.

He estimates that Detroit's population is about 853,000, which includes 603,000 people over 18 -- 30,000 fewer than the city reported as its total of registered voters.

"Even if you had 100% voter registration, which we know we don't have, you could not have numbers that high," he said. "Nationally, 67.6% of Americans are registered to vote. For African Americans, it's 60.9%."

Metzger estimates that Detroit's voter registration is closer to 422,000.

And you know what that means, don't you? Lt. Gov. John Cherry just picked up more than 200,000 votes for 2010! Woohoo! How about them apples? If they can just find more non-voter voters, he'll be a shoe-in! (and we'll be screwed)

Riley is correct that the problem can be traced back to the 1993 National Voter Registration Act, which took effect in 1995, (passed by a Democrat Congress and signed by Democrat Bill Clinton)and requires local officials to wait two federal election cycles before purging their voter rolls. Funny how this seems to only benefit one party...

UPDATE: RightMichigan has some statistics:

Here are a few more numbers to consider, from the top of the ticket...

2008 General Election results-DEM: 96.93% GOP: 2.65%
2006 General Election results-DEM: 95.05% GOP: 4.33%
2004 General Election results-DEM: 93.61% GOP: 5.93%

I'll say it again... 211,000 phantom voters. 211,000 phantom voters in a city that has spent the last two election cycles going more than 95/5 for the Left.

I've mentioned before that Detroit is the most liberal city when judged on voting record. (Detroit Resident, Urban Hunter, Our Symbol) How's that been working out for ya so far???

UPDATE #2: Welcome instapundit readers!

GM's CEO Wants Us to Drive These

The scary headline of the morning over at the freep: GM, Segway team up on two-wheeled concept vehicle. If GM's CEO, Barack Obama, has his way, will all of us be forced to drive this contraption? Here's a pic:

Isn't that quaint. From the article:

After 18 months of working together in secret, General Motors Corp.
and Segway Inc. plan to unveil today a prototype two-wheel, electric passenger
vehicle that the companies say could be a transportation solution for
increasingly overcrowded urban areas.

"From a technical prospective, this is very doable. There is nothing that needs to be invented here," said Christopher Borroni-Bird, GM director of advanced technology vehicle concepts. "The challenge, of course, is how do you begin to implement it in an existing infrastructure?"

That's easy too. You just wait until BHO points his magic wand and viola! You know, if this works out, we'll see just as many of said concept cars on the streets as we see Segways on the sidewalk...

Granholm: In 5 Hours, UNC Will Get Blown Away!

Well, she didn't exactly put it that way, but you get the gist. From the virtual pages of the DetNews: Granholm predicts MSU victory. Some snippets:

"State's going to go all the way," Granholm said during a news conference at the State Capitol. "It's an underdog game. This is an underdog state. But this group with their hard-working attitude is going to win."

"They have become a symbol for our state of what can happen when you work really hard," Granholm said. "We are very proud of this team. Our eyes, hearts and hopes will be glued to the set" tonight.

Well, I agree with the Governor on the outcome tonight, but I cringe that she made the prediction. I mean, the Granholm administration is obsessed with picking winners and loser. In fact, on the same day, she picked a different winner: Granholm signs tax credits for battery development, manufacturing. So battery manufacturers are winners, other small businesses are losers. Wind turbine? Winner! Coal? Loser. GM, Ford and Chrysler? Winners! (Although Obama sais "losers!") The rest of the business community? 22% MBT surcharge. Thus, losers!

So how's that winners/loser game going for Michigan thus far? Yeah - me neither... I've mentioned the battery tax breaks before. (Surprise! Michigan *TAX BREAKS* Lure Business; MI Lawmakers OK battery tax breaks; Michigan Senate approves battery tax breaks; More Democrat Hypocrisy on Taxes; DetNews: 12 projects expected to create 2,900 jobs) Mostly just to point out that if tax breaks give rise to more business in this sector, then maybe a tax break for all businesses will increase growth throughout the entire state? All business sector? Make everyone a winner? Maybe???

On a related note, how does the administration think all these batteries will get charged since she has done her best to put the kibosh on any new conventional power producer???
Tomorrow, people across Michigan will wake up most likely happily. That happiness will only last so long though, as it sinks in that the state is still in a tailspin due largely liberal policies foisted upon it over the last 6 years...

The Worst Opening Day Pitch EVAH!

First, this was Bush's opening day pitch:

HT: Pundit&Pundette for that one. Not much mustard, but solid. Yesterday, here's the first pitch by Cincinnati's mayor:

Worst First Pitch In Baseball History - Watch more Funny Videos

Ouch!

Who sais government must do everything?

Here's a better idea. From the DetNews: Detroit area pastors offer free recovery programs for drug addicts. From the article:

A group of Detroit area pastors representing more than 40 churches wants to help put Detroiters dealing with drug addiction on the path to recovery.

Treatment is free, and most of the programs are paid for through, federal, state and local funds, Trent said. More than 230 churches in the city, Hamtramck and Highland Park will take part in the program, with drug counselors and representatives from drug treatment centers available to enroll people.

Here's the point: Churches can do what the government does with far more efficiency and with more care. Beyond this subsidized program, some churches run programs themselves including funding. In the end, if you were in hospice care, for instance, would you want a minimum-wage government employee helping you, or a volunteer who gets paid very little or nothing but considers your care their personal mission from God? I have yet to have anyone vote for the former in lieu of the latter in all seriousness. Government is not the solution for all things. Should government get out of business it is not Constitutionally mandated to do, this would be a pretty good way to go.

Earthquake in Italy Kills 100+ U.S. Donates $50k

Apparently, that's not a typo. $50,000. Yikes! Here's the story from Brietbart via drudge:

The United States said Monday it would donate 50,000 dollars in emergency aid to Italy after a powerful earthquake killed at least 100 people.

"We send our heartfelt condolences to the families of those killed in the earthquake. Our embassy in Rome will provide 50,000 (dollars) in emergency relief funding," State Department spokesman Robert Wood told reporters.

Maybe we can just send them all iPods? Or DVDs encoded in NTSC and Region 1??? With the U.S. dollar such as it is today, will $50,000 even buy gas for an ambulance?

Liberal Parenting Idea: "Consentual Living"

You know, it's getting way beyond the "April fools!" time of the year. This one, alas, is no joke. Our neighbors in the great white north have come up with a "consensual living" movement that gives children equal say in family life. Should my kids be purvey to this mindset, there would be no bedtime, they wouldn't go to school most days, video games would be blaring 24/7/365, nothing but sweets would be served, and baths would only be taken for the fun of it. Discipline in the house would be of the "Lord of the Flies" variety, I suppose. Scary thought. Not to Canadians, though! From the GlobeandMail comes this:

In the consensual living model, father doesn't know best. Neither does mom. Instead, parents and children are equal partners in family life, according to the principles laid out at consensual-living.com.

...they consider parenting based on punishment and reward structures to be "coercive." In contrast, "consensual" parenting is non-hierarchical.

"When parents put themselves in the role as authorities, they may believe they are doing it 'for the child's good,' " writes one of the movement's co-founders, Anna Brown, "but they could be missing an opportunity to have more connected relationships with their children."

So letting kids do whatever they want is somehow "connective?" More:

Recently, the principles of consensual living have helped her cope with her son's hitting stage, she says.

When Kiernen strikes another child, Ms. Keller asks him what he's feeling and whether he'd like to express his anger or frustration in another way, such as using words or hitting a pillow.

She tells him it's not okay to hit others, but she and her husband, Josh, do not force Kiernen to say he's sorry. "If he's going to apologize, we want it to be authentic," Ms. Keller says.

Good grief! Talk about training the kids for Columbine! Yikes! You know, I can fix that behavior in about 3 minutes. Flat. Will this extend to stabbing another kid? Shooting them? "Gee Stanley, how do you feel about shooting your friend?" This is kookiness to the nth degree! What is their moral basis for such an upbringing? Someone's book inspired by "fairness?" That's it? Isn't that a bit... relative? Like building a house with no foundation? Why even call it "parenting" at all anymore? Just leave the kids to run their own lives already! See how that works out!

The Thing That Wouldn't Leave

No, I'm not talking about Monica Conyers this time. Even before the many black eyes given to Detroit by her, there was Kwame throwing haymakers Detroit's way. Kwame's gone, but his legacy endures. From the DetNews today: Ex-cop: 'Little doubt' Manoogian party occurred. Ah yes - the Manoogian mansion party. That old chestnut. Strippers. Murder. Ironically, it was that party that brought Kwame down as he had police officers fired for investigating it. The officers sued, the text messages came out, and the rest, as they say, is history. That being said, the Manoogian Mansion party was never proven. The DetNews article begins:

The former lead detective in the Tamara "Strawberry" Greene murder case says he not only believes a stripper was beaten at an alleged raunchy party at the mayoral mansion in late 2002 but also wonders why a lead he provided to the State Police about an "officer down" at the mansion never appeared in investigators' reports.

Greene is said to have danced for former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick at a never-proven party at the Manoogian Mansion; she was killed in a drive-by shooting a few months later.

Lots of key players in this episode:

More from the article:

Carlisle said that in late September or early October 2002, he received a call while he was off duty about an "officer down" at the mansion, the official residence of the Detroit mayor. Then a member of the special assignment squad of the homicide division, Carlisle was required to respond to all such calls. Two others from the squad were also notified that evening, Carlisle said.

"I got dressed and headed out around 11 p.m.," Carlisle said. "I got halfway down Jefferson when I got a call that I was not needed, and so I turned around. I even filled out an overtime notice and got paid for it."

Carlisle said he linked the "officer down" dispatch with a party at the Manoogian because witnesses told him and state investigators that a Detroit Police officer moonlighting as a stripper had worked the party.

"I have grave doubts she danced at the Manoogian," Carlisle said of Greene. "But I have little doubt that the night I received a call to go to the mansion, a party occurred."

Read the whole thing. Just gets curiouser and curiouser. Thanks Kwama! Thanks for all the (bad) memories, the scandals, the black eyes that will take more time to heal while you 'work' your $300,000 per your job doing nothing.

Don't expect this Manoogian debacle to go away anytime soon...

The Symptom of a Problem in Urban Cities

I saw this story over at the DetNews this morning: Detroit area tops in 'job sprawl'. What was interesting here is the symptom:

More than three-fourths of jobs in Metro Detroit are farther than 10 miles from the heart of the city, deepening the economic and social divide between Detroit and its suburbs.

Gee - what could possibly be the problem? Fact of the matter is that it's not a Detroit-area problem, but rather a Detroit problem. After years of incompetence throughout, the chickens are home and roost they will. But it's even larger than Detroit, as the article points out:

the Brookings Institution said almost every major American metro area has seen a drop in the share of employment downtown since 1998, as jobs have increasingly moved into suburbs.

The phenomenon is called "job sprawl," and nowhere in America is that disconnect greater than in Metro Detroit.

So what is the commonality between these urban areas that is creating this exodus from urban centers? The article beats around the bush, but doesn't really say. It mentions mass transit, yada, yada, but that's not a reason for the job sprawl at all. In fact, the article mentions, besides Detroit, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Los Angeles and Philadelphia as being particularly hard-hit by the phenomenon. Since the article doesn't say it, I will. What's the commonality? How about an unopposable Democrat hegemony for several generations!?!? Wouldn't that explain a thing or two? This is exactly what liberal policies cause. And instead of fighting the trend, the population of Detroit, with an unemployment rate of 22% in a state with the rate at 12% (highest in the nation), continues to vote the same people into office (Kwama, Conyers, etc). Have the residents lost their minds? It doesn't work. It hasn't worked in most residents lifetimes, yet they still vote straight-party ticket Democrat every. Single. Time. It's maddening!

The liberal policies are anti-growth, anti-business, high tax, spend more, distribute wealth, do away with personal freedom and responsibility, do away with liberty, etc ad infinitum. And they wonder why jobs are leaving the swamp? It's happening with Detroit, the most liberal city in the U.S. by voting record. It is happening in Michigan, a purple state. Anybody see cause and effect here. Hello? Bueller???? We're in danger of becoming small as a nation...

Obama Makes a Dan Quayle Gaffe, Media Yawns...

Obama Think "Austrian" is a language. Austria's official language is German. This would be equivalent to a world leader coming here and telling us that we speak "American." Is nobody in the MSM cognizant that this is a Dan Quayle moment? Remember this quote from the former VP?: "I was recently on a tour of Latin America, and the only regret I have was that I didn't study Latin harder in school so I could converse with those people. " Here's the partial transcript of Obama's 'lecture:"

PRESIDENT OBAMA: It’s an interesting question. I had already formed relationships with many of them. Some of them I had met when I traveled through Europe before my election. Some of them I had met because they came to Washington after the election. This is the first time I’ve been in a forum with so many of them at the same time.

I’m extraordinarily impressed by the quality of leadership. I am constantly reminded that although there are cultural differences that are important and that we have to be sensitive to, what we have in common between Europe and the United States so vastly exceeds any differences that we have; that we should not forget why we are allies, and we should be careful about some of the easy stereotypes that take place on both sides of the borders.

It was also interesting to see that political interaction in Europe is not that different from the United States Senate. There’s a lot of — I don’t know what the term is in Austrian — wheeling and dealing — and, you know, people are pursuing their interests, and everybody has their own particular issues and their own particular politics.

Now, such a gaffe would normally be innocuous enough by itself, but the media is so far into the tank for Obama that they don't see their own hypocrisy between how they treat Obama and Dan Quayle for essentially an identical gaffe.

The gaffe happens at the 1:33 mark in this dreadfully boring dialogue coming out of Obama (what's going on with the teleprompter lately?):

HT: RedState

UPDATE: Another gaffe relevant to the current discussion:

How to Read "Gay Marriage" Into The Constitution

This'll do it:

HT: RedState

Detroit Free Press Article: "Baby Einstein" video = Childhood Obesity!

I don't think that's true. In fact, my kids, who have all watched the entire "Baby Einstein" series when they were little, are not overweight at all, but are instead far above their respective medians in height. My 8 year old is 5 feet tall and the average height of a 12-year old. So maybe the "Baby Einstein" series makes kids tall, not fat. Here's the title of an article that raised a brow this morning at the freep: Programs claiming to boost intelligence don't do much, Harvard study says. At the very least, they do one thing - keep the kid occupied for a small bit of time so mom and dad can reconstitute their sanity. Anyway, from the article:

With names like "Baby Einstein," "So Smart," and "Brainy Baby," a lot of parents think educational videos for infants and toddlers will make their children smarter.

But new research from Harvard Medical School suggests the parenting sensation could be a waste of money. A study of 872 mother-child pairs that followed the child from birth through age 3 shows that kids 2 and younger get no learning benefit from television and videos...

For my part, the Baby Einstein series was worth every penny that I paid for it. My kids know a few words from several languages - words that they picked up from that series of videos. Of course, that's just anecdotal evidence. Here's the kicker in the article though:

Marie Evans Schmidt, lead researcher from Harvard's Center on Media and Child Health, said 68% of babies are watching some kind of TV or video daily -- often for one or two hours. And rather than making them smarter, she said, parents could be setting up their kids for childhood obesity.

That's righ moms and dads, Bard the Dragon is making your kids fat! Darned dragons!

I'm pretty sure there's a non-sequitur in there. Note the operative word "could" in that last sentence. How have they come to that conclusion? Here's the key:

Factoring in the mother's age, income and vocabulary -- which play a role in the amount of time children spend in front of the TV -- the 3-year-olds who watched a lot were no smarter or less intelligent than those who watched less. They were however, a little bit fatter and more likely to be sleep-deprived.

How does one factor in income, for one, in the results? Specifically, how was income weighted in the final score? The article doesn't say. In addition, what does a "little bit fatter" mean? Did they go with just weight? Change in weight over a time period? BMI? Body fat compositional changes? How do they measure sleep deprivation when babies tend to sleep whenever they want? There are details here that are alluded to but no specifically covered that lead me to believe there's an "Enron accounting" going on with the raw data from the study. It is that raw data that I would be more interested in than all this "weighted for income" gobbledygook. Enron accounting has been used for a great many things, including making Detroit seem more safe. (Detroit NOT Deadliest City - if you use Enron accounting!) Here's a telling quote from one of the researchers:

"The infant can't process television any better than, dare I say it, a dog would"

Uh - how much did this study cost? What are these researchers going to do next - ring a bell before kids get fed? With the Michigan economy in freefall due in large part to the economic policies of the current state administration which the freep endorsed time and time again, it's no wonder the article above is splashed all over the place. Groan. Maybe with more obese kids we can eat our way to prosperity?

SNL on CEO Obama

HT: The Other McCain

Gwyneth Paltrow: 'I fear that shampoo gives cancer to children'

On the lighter side of things today - who says most Hollywood stars and starlets are kooks? Well... I do, for one. Case-in-point today is Gwyneth Paltrow, Hollywood royalty. From the U.K. Mail Online:

Gwyneth Paltrow has been branded ‘loopy’ by scientists after warning that products such as shampoo could be linked to cancer.

The actress and wife of Coldplay singer Chris Martin says she was ‘seized with fear’ after reading research about what she calls ‘environmental toxins’ – chemicals which are present in everyday items.

Cancer Research UK said the number of children with cancer had not changed in the past ten years and there was no known environmental cause for the disease.

The Oscar-winning actress, who doesn't have a single memorable role to a movie buff like myself (except maybe 'Dixie Normous' in the 3rd of the Austin Powers trilogy), must be reading some pretty kooky literature to come to her conclusions. The literature most likely comes with pop-up illustrations, and has scratch-and-sniff areas laced with LSD. She's just another in a string of lost Hollywood kooks that have shacked up in "alternate lifestyles:"

Miss Paltrow, 36, has embraced an alternative lifestyle, raising her children, Apple and Moses, on a macrobiotic diet which excludes foods such as cheese and white flour in favour of grains, vegetables and beans.

Poor kids will be in therapy in a few years with Madonna's kid from Malawi. Here was the most galling part to me though:

‘Foetuses, infants and toddlers are basically unable to metabolize toxins the way that adults are, and we are constantly filling our environments with chemicals that may or may not be safe.

Gwyneth Paltrow, by the way, is an avid supporter of abortion rights. So in her worldview, it's not OK to shampoo your hair while pregnant because it might harm the baby, but it's perfectly OK to fillet the kid and scramble their brains while still conscious in the womb. As a matter of fact, Paltrow exploited mothers day in 2006 to raise money for Planned Parenthood.

HT: HotAir

Detroit MSM Piling On Monica Conyers

This has to be the classic case of "piling on." Where was all this investigative news when DPS was going straight into the toilet? Or regarding Detroit's structural budget deficit? For that matter, the state's structural budget deficit as well? It's only when things get really bad that the freep and the DetNews take action. It's in reality less investigation and more of reporting the painfully obvious. Dual articles today from each regarding Conyers. First, from the freep: Squabble by squabble, Conyers disgraces office.

I went to YouTube this week and typed in "Monica Conyers," just to see what would come up. The result: 54 little video snippets, most of them featuring the Detroit City Council president in unflattering situations. The "Shrek" incident with former council president and now Mayor Ken Cockrel Jr. A shouting match between her and another member of the city's pension board. News clips featuring other outbursts.

This is how the world at large sees Conyers -- in at least one case more than 140,000 times. And, of course, this week, Conyers acted out again, cursing at council member Sheila Cockrel during a session and then leveling personal insults at Cockrel in a TV interview. And then there was the story about Conyers pulling strings to get a City Hall job for her brother, an ex-con.

The suggestion alluded to in the freep article is to have Conyers either removed or to simply not reelect her. Good luck with the latter, as the D reelected Kwame after his many scandals. If it won't be Monica, it'll just be someone else. Maybe not as visible, but just as incompetent. Such is the case with the mayor's office, the City Council, DPS, etc. Detroitus Incompetitus has infected the city at all levels through and through. I might add that this is exactly what happens when Democrat hegemony is achieved. The DetNews has a twin piece with a more explicit call for Monica to go even sooner: Impeach Conyers before it's too late.

Detroit is saddled with too many handicaps to tolerate a time bomb as head of its City Council.

Monica Conyers is not only dysfunctional as a leader; she's also dangerous to the city's image. She's erratic and volatile and is a public threat.

We've all been waiting to see if the Justice Department has the evidence and the courage to indict the wife of its connect-the-dots boss, House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers.

But the feds are taking too long making up their minds in the City Hall corruption probe, and the seven months until the November election are an awfully long time to risk Conyers' bizarre behavior.

She's got to go now.

Just for the record, here is a list of just Monica's problems (I'll save John Conyers for another post) that I have posted on this blog many times:

• her blatant racism while accusing suburbanites and the State of implied racism?
• a strip-club owner received a solicitation for a $25,000 bribe in order to obtain the vote of Monica Conyers
• Or her making fun of the hearing of Kenyatta during an official Council meeting (or for that matter, his health and his education)?
• Or being involved in a bar fight just before taking office and then calling Cockrel a 'drunk' when questioned about the incident at a Council meeting?
• Or calling then Council President Cockrel "Shrek?"
• Or the hotel disturbance at the Democratic convention this past August because she wasn't getting the queen treatment?
• Or the illegal travel reimbursements?
• Or the Synagro bribery scandal?
• Or getting her felon brother a cushy City job without him showing up to work much?
• Or denying that her brother was her brother when confronted, then having to admit it?
• Or getting her niece hired also?
• Or telling Councilwoman Sheila Cockrel to "Shut the f*** up!" during a council meeting?
• Or the incident during her time on one of the city’s pension boards, where she was accused of threatening another member with a gun.

That's in no way an exhaustive list, by the way! This woman is a walking, talking disaster. But then again, who would replace her? Has anyone come out of Detroit that has led the city in the correct direction? You know the saying that we can't possibly do worse. When the D is concerned, then there's another popular motto that can be said: "yes we can!"

WaPo: Study Confirms Vouchers Superior to Public Ed Monopolies

As if it's any surprise to most of us. What is surprising to me is that this appeared in the WaPo of all places today: Study Supports School Vouchers. From the piece:

A U.S. Education Department study released yesterday found that District students who were given vouchers to attend private schools outperformed public school peers on reading tests, findings likely to reignite debate over the fate of the controversial program.

The D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program, the first federal initiative to spend taxpayer dollars on private school tuition, was created by a Republican-led Congress in 2004 to help students from low-income families. Congress has cut off federal funding after the 2009-10 school year unless lawmakers vote to reauthorize it.

Overall, the study found that students who used the vouchers received reading scores that placed them nearly four months ahead of peers who remained in public school. However, as a group, students who had been in the lowest-performing public schools did not show those gains. There was no difference in math performance between the groups.

What the WaPo piece doesn't say is the vouchers cost just a quarter of what each student gets through a public school monopoly. So even if the worst case is no educational benefit, the cost of education would drop by 75%. Wouldn't that be something to behold in and of itself? I pointed out this little tidbit in a prior post (Vouchers vs. D.C. public schools):

(D.C. public school funding) is $28,813 per pupil... education secretary Arne Duncan referred to DC public schools as a district with “more money than God.” ... Just goes to show that throwing money at the problem makes the problem worse, not better. So one has to wonder why the Obama administration is targeting the program for termination. I mean - it's all about educating the children, right? Right??? Heck - even WaPo took the dems to carpet for targeting the program.

A cheap proposal was offered this morning in the freep (A Reasonable Plan on School Choice in MI) related to Michigan which would open up school choice and at the same time save the state money in a time of recession. A win-win, right? Wrong. The MEA won't go for it. nor will our current governor. The result? Kids in DPS are stuck in DPS, such as it is...

Being that this is tinfoil hat-wearing WaPo, it should tell you something. Here's the fear from the dems: since the program is a proven success at a fraction of the cost, it threatens the monopoly and thus the unions that line the pockets of the dems. In addition, they lose control of their indoctrination centers to ram left-wing ideology into young minds. Here's Arne Duncan's statement from the current WaPo piece:

Education Secretary Arne Duncan said in a statement that the Obama administration does not want to pull participating students out of the program but does not support its continuation.

"Big picture, I don't see vouchers as being the answer," Duncan said in a recent meeting with Washington Post editors and reporters. "You can pull two kids out, you can pull three kids out, and you're leaving 97, 98 percent behind. You need to help all those kids. The way you help them is by challenging the status quo where it's not working and coming back with dramatically better schools and doing it systemically."

Uh - isn't that exactly what vouchers do? Challenge the status quo? What specifically does Duncan, or the Obama administration, want to do with a D.C. public school system that already has “more money than God?” So far, just platitudes. Meanwhile, the kids will suffer under Democrat tyranny. The Washington D.C. school district can at least point out one and only one positive: at least they're not DPS.

HT: NRO

Taxes all the talk over at the freep today

The first article I read today had a cringe-worthy headline: Dillon eyes Nov. ballot for overhaul of Michigan tax system. You just know that when Andy Dillon and taxes are mentioned in the same breath that you better hang onto your wallet. From the article:

House Speaker Andy Dillon has his eye on a possible November ballot issue to overhaul Michigan's tax system.

Dillon, D-Redford Township, told the Free Press last week that he's far from a specific plan, but that he's working with Detroit Renaissance on alternatives that may require a constitutional amendment.

"If we come up with something good and bold, I'd like to do it this November" in a special election, Dillon said.

He said one popular notion -- to keep property taxes from going up when property values drop -- would require a constitutional change.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't the Republican-controlled MI Senate pass exactly such a measure after an initial setback that now has to be taken up by the MI House (what say you, Andy?) before being put on the November ballot? (MI Property Tax Relief, the MEA, and Human Shields) As far as I know, the House has not acted on it whatsoever, has it Andy? Isn't this the same man, by the way, that led the way as Granholm slapped all Michigan small businesses with a 22% MBT surcharge not long ago? And increased the income tax rate on all working MI moms and dads by 12%, from 3.9% to 4.35%? So you can see why I have reservations in applauding Dillon for trying to ease the tax burden. The man has done everything but. Quite the contrary as a matter of fact. He has helped crush the population as well as businesses under the weight of an unsustainable tax structure.

Then there was mention of dismantling the flat income tax rate here in Michigan and replacing it with class warfare. Like it's working so well on the national level... not! In fact, Granholm has been hot on this idea for some time. (Granholm Pushing Tax Amendament While Michigan Exodus Continues) Other dems just want to simply increase the income tax on everyone (Surprise! Dems in MI want to Increase Income Tax... Again...) since that won't require a constitutional amendment.

Of course, as the initial freep article today indicates, Granholm is not interested in any tax reforms unless it is "payed for:"

"We're not interested in changing or cutting taxes without identifying ways to pay for those cuts," said Granholm's spokesperson, Liz Boyd.

What that means in political speak is she does not want to lower taxes. not at all. Against her nature or something. But it's a maddening notion she trots out that tax cuts have to be "paid for." Does she understand that all of Michigan's revenue are from those very taxes? That it's not a problem of revenue, but rather one of too much spending? See, you decrease spending adn we keep more of our own money. Simple as that. Here are the budget numbers for each year of the Granholm administration via RightMichigan:

2003 Total Budget: $38,546,223,200

2004 Total Budget: $39,236,530,900

2005 Total Budget: $40,224,217,400

2006 Total Budget: $41,672,547,100

2007 Total Budget: $42,791,804,000

2008 Total Budget: $43,827,383,200

2009 Total Budget: $44,200,000,000 (proposed)

See the problem yet? Anyone? Bueller??? This state has been in a recession for more than 6 years now, and the increased spending, which gave rise to increased taxes is part and parcel of the very problem we're in right now!!! I feel like I'm taking crazy pills!!!

WSJ: Obama Wants to Control the Banks; Refuses TARP Repayment

Is this Orwellian or what? Did I miss Obama implementing some form of The Matrix to maintain control, turning the banks into batteries?

From the WSJ this morning:

I must be naive. I really thought the administration would welcome the return of bank bailout money. Some $340 million in TARP cash flowed back this week from four small banks in Louisiana, New York, Indiana and California. This isn't much when we routinely talk in trillions, but clearly that money has not been wasted or otherwise sunk down Wall Street's black hole. So why no cheering as the cash comes back?

My answer: The government wants to control the banks, just as it now controls GM and Chrysler, and will surely control the health industry in the not-too-distant future. Keeping them TARP-stuffed is the key to control. And for this intensely political president, mere influence is not enough. The White House wants to tell 'em what to do. Control. Direct. Command.

Yikes! More:

If the banks are forced to keep TARP cash -- which was often forced on them in the first place -- the Obama team can work its will on the financial system to unprecedented degree. That's what's happening right now.

Hope and change? The media went ballistic over W and his supposed 'control' of the country. Will this be prominently pasted over the front page of every newspaper in the country? Don't hold your breath. All I hear out of the MSM is crickets chirping... On a related note, has the government ever run anything that didn't go out of control in a hurry? The same government that has "run" Amtrak (no profit in 2 generations, but got a bailout), the Post Office (about to go bankrupt without more money), Social Security (about to go bankrupt in the next generation), Medicare (about to go bankrupt in the next generation), etc. ad infinitum. GM and Chrysler are under government control too, and are now being told what kind of car to build. Anyone feel better now?

10 Most Amazing Holes on Earth

What it sais. Not a typo. Here's my favorite of the bunch (I'm biased since I do teach fluid mechanics):

The above is the Monticello Dam spillway entrance in Napa County, California. Of course, every time I see it I expect the Silver Surfer to come flying out and heralding our doom. See all 10 amazing holes at this link. Of course, they forgot about the big hole here in the U.S. with the 'Obamaland' sign in front:

HT: instapundit

"Life is a Precious Gift" Float Banned from Holland Parade; Part Deux

A few days ago, I posted that ghoulishness is making its way across the entire culture. A freep article had this: Anti-abortion group can't put float in Holland festival's parade. Even though the same group has had a float in the same parade for 25 years running. Here's a picture of that float:

You must be shocked at such a blatantly political float. Note the "life a precious gift" message so prominently displayed that it must be... Uh - what's wrong with this again? I made the following comments about the float in that prior post:

Uh - what does getting nonprofit tax status have to do with a float that sais "Life is a Precious Gift?" I mean - it's doesn't say "Planned Parenthood is Evil!" or "Stop Abortion NOW!" or any such thing. Just that "Life is a Precious Gift." I have a suggestion for Right to Life. Crash the parade, ala Animal House.

That last part was said in jest, but anyway. More news on this absurdity today from The Grand Rapids Press via MLive: Right to Life fights for chance to have float in Tulip Time parade. Some snippets:

The board of Right to Life of the Holland Area faxed a letter Friday to Holland's Tulip Time board, requesting a compromise that will allow the organization to continue a 26-year tradition of having its float in two festival parades.

Tulip Time recently denied the chapter's request to enter the parades in light of the festival's new 501c3 tax status, which allows contributors to get tax write-offs. The festival has a policy that refrains it from endorsing organizations whose objective is influencing legislation.

By the way, in view of that policy, politicians are allowed a float. huh? That is correct. Who, I might ask, influences legislation more than politicians? In fact, the Ottawa County Republicans have a float. No problemo. So just what gives here. In addition, for the record, the policy is not new and has been in place for some time. But they want to enforce it now? And just against Right to Life??? Sounds pretty bogus to me. Something smells and it ain't the tulips! Here's a pretty galling comment:

A parade is not a political platform, (attorney and president of the 12-member Tulip Time board) Zietlow said.

Again, the politicians, sir? What the heck??? Just Michigan sent a letter to the Board (HT: RightMichigan). Do the same if you feel so compelled.

You can find contact information for Tulip Time Festival, Inc. on their website here: http://www.tuliptime.com/contacts

Pretty soon, these ghouls will sick this guy on Right to Life of Michigan. Stay classy!

Eastern Michigan University: Endorse Homosexual Lifestyle or NO SOUP FOR YOU!

This sais it for me:

This is another unbelievable story coming out of academia. Being of academia, I see kookiness now and again, but nothing like this. Moreover, there hasn't been a boo or a peep about this in the local MSM. Gee - I wonder why? Maybe the MSM is busy trying to paint the entire populace as a bunch of homophobes? (Media Homophobic Entrapment Fails (Epically)) I had to find this story at the WND: University to student: Endorse being 'gay' or leave. Talk about an offer you can't refuse, ala The Godfather. What happened to that whole "tolerance" thing? Diversity? Anyway, here's the gist:

A lawsuit has been filed against Eastern Michigan University, accusing the school of tossing a student out of a graduate counseling program because she refused to endorse homosexuality as morally good.

Julea Ward filed suit after she was dismissed from the school's counseling training for not affirming homosexuality and then refusing to recant her beliefs in "disciplinary proceedings," according to the Alliance Defense Fund Center for Academic Freedom.

David French, senior counsel for the ADF, said, "When a public university has a prerequisite of affirming homosexual behavior as morally good in order to obtain a degree, the school is stepping over the legal line."

Gee - ya think? Talk about bald-faced indoctrination! This part was particularly disturbing:

The student was targeted by the school's disciplinary process as a result of her decision, and she was "informed that the only way she could stay in the graduate school counseling program would be if she agreed to undergo a 'remediation' program … to see the 'error of her ways,'" ADF said.

Yikes! So I ask again - "What the hell is going on out here?!?" How has this happened to such a great institution? Many faculty from OU went to the Eastern Michigan University campus not long ago to stand by their colleagues as they faced some bargaining problems down there (it's a pretty short drive from OU - about 45 minutes in all). Is EMU modeling it's equality policies after the E.U? Where is the Detroit News? The Free Press? Can you imagine the outrage if a homosexual student were to be required to affirm being straight as the moral thing to do? The indignation and gnashing of teeth would be legendary! Alas, crickets chirping over here in the band of the hand...
UPDATE: Welcome conservativegrapevine readers!

UPDATE#2: That last quote that I posted above reminded me of something this morning. Here's the quote:

she was "informed that the only way she could stay in the graduate school counseling program would be if she agreed to undergo a 'remediation' program … to see the 'error of her ways'

What popped into my mind was "tolerance camp." Since I have wasted so many years on watching TV (the wasted years! -weep, weep), this came to mind next:

The Michigan Coal Stimulus; Part Deux

It's been a little while since I posted on coal power in this blog. Not for a lack of interest, but because of a lack of relevant news on the subject. Finally, that changed today. I wrote a post on this topic on Feb. 21, with many follow ups, with this as my thesis:

Gov. Jennifer Granholm overstepped her bounds when she ordered new legal requirements related to coal plants in the state, Attorney General Mike Cox said Friday. That was welcome news at Jackson-based Consumers Energy, which is planning to build a $2 billion, 800-megawatt advanced supercritical pulverized clean coal plant near Bay City.

$2 billion. Quite an "investment" in Michigan, wouldn't you say? In fact, let's compare numbers here, shall we? The non-stimulus stimulus boondoggle will yield $5.5-7 billion for Michigan in pork (apparently, someone is still reading the bill that had to be rushed through immediately with no debate to prevent a national calamity, and was signed a full 4 days later after Obama came back from a long-weekend vacation).

In any case, here we have a private company willing to invest $2 billion in Michigan, with no stings attached (unlike the "stimulus"), putting Michigan moms and dads to work to fix a crumbling infrastructure - almost a full third of what we are to be getting from porulus. In fact, if you consider the other licences applied for to build modern, cleaner coal power plants in the State, there's more "stimulus" money there than porkulus offers, won't put our children and grandchildren in debt, won't add to the national deficit, won't cause inflation to limit economic growth, and it will be home-grown right here in Michigan.

Moreover, the power plant to be built in Bay City is an "advanced supercritical pulverized clean coal plant." That's right - much better for the environment than the old dilapidated plants that pump out power for our homes now. This is a win-win for consumers in this great State.

The information, of course, fell on deaf ears with the administration (if anyone read the piece), which seems more concerned with environmental fear-mongering and pandering to such special interests, than providing fertile soil for job growth in this state. Other than the financial incentives for letting such a project go forward, or better yet just getting the heck out of its way, I also mentioned the environmental benefit of the new technology. Looks like someone picked up on that. Consumers Energy has changed tactics. From the Bay City Times via MLive comes this: Consumers CEO: New Bay County plant will help company reduce environmental footprint. From the article:

Consumers Energy plans to reduce its environmental footprint by retiring some of its older units after a new coal-fired facility goes online in Bay County, Dave Joos, CEO of the Jackson-based utility, said Friday.

Consumers also is considering using technology from the Dow Chemical Co. of Midland to control greenhouse gases from the new plant, Joos said.

"The new plant will be much more efficient and much cleaner than the 50-year-old plants it is designed to replace," he said.

"So our overall environmental impact, including carbon dioxide emissions and mercury, will be lower than it is today."

Joos spoke to more than 100 community leaders at an invite-only session at the Bay Valley Resort and Conference Center in Frankenlust Township.

Joos encouraged those in attendance to voice their support at the hearings, noting that the new plant is estimated to create 1,800 jobs during construction and "at least 100 permanent, high-paying jobs" after it becomes operational in 2017.

Excellent change of tactics there, Consumers! What took you so long? It used to be that the $2.3 billion in investment and the jobs created from such was the primary driving force. Today, such is not the case. But in a state bleeding jobs out the wazoo, shouldn't job creation be up there as a priority? The enviros will argue, as they have done thus far, that new plants aren't needed because of the population exodus from Michigan. What that has done up to this point is keep older, less efficient, dirtier plants running while newer more efficient plants have gotten shelved. I hope the environmental kooks out there note the benefits and take a hard look at their own logic, or lack thereof. Unfortunately, that does not happen often. Leading the charge against coal, of course, is The One himself. Groan...

Stimulus we can believe in!