Snyder bullies Local GOP over Dick Morris

I heard about this at the 8th district meeting from a few folks. I'm not a real big Dick Morris fan, but this is just damn wrong. Rick Snyder is throwing his weight around trying to bigtime people into pulling their invitations to events where Dick Morris is speaking. Why? Because Morris has the audacity to work for someone who opposes Snyder on his pet issue.

The background is this. Snyder and Granholm are pushing a taxpayer funded new bridge to Canada. It's being opposed by the current private owner of the Ambassador Bridge. Dick Morris is the spokesman for the folks opposed to this.

I don't agree with every speaker a local party has. Now if I became a major power broker in the state, would I go ape over the selection? No. In fact my comments in the past are, "well if he brings in the money" to the party. That's the purpose of these events. I don't agree with Rudy Giuliani on a lot of issues. However, he'd bring a crowd in. I realize that and would be all for him speaking at our events.

Dick Morris was scheduled to speak at two events. It's now one, because of Rick Snyder. Snyder tried to get it to zero, but Oakland County GOP basically said he wasn't going to break a contract with his ticker purchases.

From the Detroit News.

Lansing— Conservative political commentator Dick Morris' June 9 appearance in Metro Detroit has been canceled under pressure, he says, from the Governor's Office.

He will, however, speak at the Oakland County Republican Party's Lincoln Day Dinner on Wednesday. That appearance, too, was in jeopardy when Gov. Rick Snyder's office urged organizers to rescind their invitation.

"I was scheduled and then I was canceled," said Morris, a former adviser to President Bill Clinton who has switched to the Republican Party. "Apparently free speech has its limits in Snyder's Michigan."

Morris, a Fox News commentator, is a consultant to the Detroit International Bridge Co., which owns the Ambassador Bridge and hopes to build a second privately owned span across the Detroit River. Republican Snyder supports a publicly owned span. Many in his party oppose that plan.

"Obviously the governor's concern was directly related to my opposition to his $2 billion bridge proposal," Morris said.

Tom Stroup, chairman of the 11th Congressional Republican Committee, would only say, "The leadership of the 11th District Committee made a decision to cancel the dinner at this point in time."

Snyder spokeswoman Sara Wurfel didn't deny talking to the two groups. "There was just strong concern that Dick Morris is a hired gun with a divisive agenda who clearly doesn't have Michigan's best interests in mind," she said.

Rick Snyder doesn't have Michigan's best interests in mind either, when he raises taxes, pushes for pork barrel projects with tax money, and pushes to censor views he doesn't like.

From the Free Press

"I had a friendly conversation with the governor's office. They were concerned that Dick Morris was not the best voice for us," said the Oakland County Republican Party's chairman, Jim Thienel. "But they left all the decision-making to me."

Thienel said it was too late to change plans: More than 400 tickets to the dinner, which also will features conservative activist Andrew Breitbart, have been sold and programs have been printed.

I don't know Jim well, but he didn't get to be Oakland County's chair without using a lot of diplomacy. That's probably one of the two or three toughest chairmanships in the state with all the geographical interests and factions (it's mostly club based). Jim's nicer than I am and isn't going to publicly rip Snyder over this. I'm sure he wasn't happy about it though.

There's a LOT of grumbling about this, and many folks are lukewarm about him at best to begin with. Keep in mind two things. This is right after the pension taxes, which ticked off a lot of people in the party. Snyder also was never the pick of either most of the grassroots (Split between Hoekstra, Cox, Bouchard), nor the establishment (Mostly Hoekstra). Instead, we basically got a guy in views similar to Andy Dillon, except that Dillon's pro-life, and Snyder is not ($2000 donation to embryo research).

Enter the tea party.

Tea party supporters upset with the June 9 cancellation have booked Morris for an alternate dinner the same night.

Dennis Moore, director of the Willow Run Tea Party Caucus in Washtenaw County, is helping organize the Waterford Township dinner. "The governor called and strong-armed them into not having Dick Morris as a speaker," Moore said. "Just because we don't agree with the governor on an issue, does that mean (we should be) quieted?"

Good. From what I've heard, Morris is actually speaking at this event for free. Snyder will love that.

Dumb and Dumber revisited

I don't know who is dumber here. The thought policy and grandstanding of school bureaucrats or the students that did the postings. What postings? From the Argus:

Two students were suspended from Howell High School Friday after administrators discovered the students used school computers to post content on an Internet hate group created on Facebook.com.

Principal Aaron Moran said the violation could lead to expulsions.

"It's unacceptable," Moran said. "It's not something that Howell Public Schools stands for. That's not a representation of all of our kids, but it's unfortunate that some are participating in this type of speech."

Moran said school officials became aware of the Rebel and Proud Internet group Wednesday when a member of the public referred the site to a teacher. Based on the time and dates of certain postings, as well as tracking software, administrators were able to determine what activity took place at school.

Friday morning, the Facebook group listed 34 members, the majority of whom identified themselves as Howell High School students.

The group's Web page displayed an image of the Confederate flag along with this message:

"If you hate a certain type of anybody black, white, pink, yellow or polka dot (you) should join. This shows you are a rebel and proud of it."

The group's creator listed his name, address, e-mail address and cell phone number on the site. Facebook is accessible to anyone with a computer and Internet
connection.

He claimed the hate group was a joke.

"It was a joke, pretty much. ... It wasn't just me," said Chase Crawford, a 17-year-old junior at Howell High School and the creator of the group.

A March 26 forum posting by Crawford read: "i have no problem with black people just (n———)." When asked if that posting was a joke as well, Crawford said he didn't remember posting those words.

Repeated attempts to reach Crawford's parents were not successful.

Another member of the group, who identified himself on his Facebook page as a 2008 Howell High School graduate, displayed a photo of a cross being burned with a man standing next to it, holding two thumbs up.

The so-called "joke" drew a serious response from members of the Livingston Diversity Council, an organization that advocates for diversity and inclusion within Livingston County.

First off. Rule one. Anything posted on the internet is there forever. The first part of World Wide Web is WORLD. That means the entire world can see that. That can come back and bite you in the arse like an angry Canada goose.

As to the comments, based on the article (I'll skip the link, to the actual site as I have no desire to see it), it sounds like a joke. Not a funny joke, rather dumb, but a joke. The comment about black people v N's sounds like a reference to a famous Chris Rock
skit that you can see on youtube here. Warning - The language is very R rated, as you would expect from a Chris Rock skit. The burning cross picture is provocative, as it is supposed to be. Shock value to get attention. They got it..... As Foghorn Leghorn says, that boy is about as sharp as a bowling ball, hence the title of this post. Dumb and Dumber revisited. The comments were dumb, the admins were dumber.

The question is as follows. How do we deal with individuals like the people that posted this? How I deal with it is simple. I don't associate with those people. They aren't worthy of my time. That ends it. Instead with have a major news story in the Argus about this, and some grandstanding from the schools.

Is this worth an explusion? That strikes me as a political correct response to this by the thought police so the admins and the Argus can crow to the world that they aren't like Robert Miles (who of course had to be mentioned in this news story even though he's been dead for almost 20 years). If you want to see adults dumber than the kids who post this stuff, go watch a bunch of bureaucrats in action. These bureaucrats and their reaction (expulsion - uber outrage and yapping) makes it look like they have something to hide.

Back in my high school days, I had a bit of a mouth at times (surprising, ain't it) that sometimes got me in trouble. I received a cheap detention for something stupid and in my disgust, crumpled up the form and said (which I thought was under my breath) "F' this." Luckily it wasn't directly at the teacher, but it was loud enough to cost me a three day suspension as well as facing the parents at home which was no fun. I laugh about it today in my 30's, but it wasn't so funny then. It wasn't as dumb as what these individuals did, but a similar punishment for this should suffice, or better yet, give them an offer they can't refuse. If I was admin, I'd offer to take this off their record if they work the soup kitchens in Detroit for five days. Expulsion doesn't fit the crime. Slap them on the wrist a bit, stop the embarassing grandstanding, and move on from this. These are 17 year old kids which by definition, do dumb things from time to time. Let them learn from it (and not with PC brainwashing that backfires), and help this boy become a man.

City Jerk moves to town and pushes for censorship in that town

There's an old saying used at some old time taverns. Be good or be gone. It's a good saying for many communities. As someone who grew up in Livingston County back when it was country, I am quite sensitive to this type of story. I also hate censorship in general. Both are prominent in this story.

From the Detroit News:

FRANKENMUTH -- If this popular tourist mecca 80 miles north of Detroit wears Germany on one of its sleeves, the other contains Martin Luther.

Founded by Lutheran missionaries who vowed to retain their old ways, the community of 4,800 has one of the highest concentrations of Lutherans in the Midwest. The city seal contains a Luther rose, the symbol for Lutheranism.

So when local atheist Lloyd Clarke wanted to remove a cross from the seal, along with ones in a city park and on a state bridge, residents rose nearly as one against him.

Children taunted the 66-year-old Clarke. A letter writer accused him of trying to reduce Frankenmuth to "Satan's pit." Another said crosses were as much a part of the town as its renowned chicken dinners.

"People who like to cite the Constitution to justify their hatred and bigotry should take the time to read it," resident Judi King wrote to the local paper.

I think most people have been to Frankenmuth at some point. For those that haven't, I'll just say that the culture there is as German as South Boston is Irish. It's fairly obvious from the name of the town which was settled by Lutheran missionaries from Franconia. It is still largely German to this day. It's also most well known for Bronner's Christmas store that draws customers from all over the country. It's still a heavily religious and conservative area. It markets that. It markets its culture. You see it in the stores, building, street names, and last names of the people there. I can't explain this in a website. You have to see it to understand it. It's a great town to visit, and I don't have to be German or Lutheran to appreciate it.

Clarke said he moved from Bay City to be closer to family in Frankenmuth and a neighboring town.

He didn't notice the foot-long crosses on the bridge until he drove past them a few months ago, he said. He felt they made Jews, Muslims and other non-Christians feel unwelcome.

I've never seen a religious symbol on a bridge in all my life," he said.

Clarke has a long history of activism. A retired UAW organizer, he has belonged to anti-war groups and ran for the state Senate in 2006 as a Green Party candidate, receiving 2.5 percent of the vote.

After he objected to the bridge crosses, the city promptly removed them.

Boy, that was easy, Clarke thought. He then tried his luck with removing the cross from the city seal.

But the city balked, the churches got involved, the residents turned on Clarke, and Frankenmuth hasn't been the same since.

U.S. courts have given conflicting rulings about religious symbols on public property. But judges seem to support such emblems if they represent the history of a community, said legal scholars.

So you feel unwelcome after pushing the city around. Tough crap. Go home. Go back to Bay City, Clarke. You have only been in Frankenmuth for four years. You have not EARNED the right to push this crap around. You may have the power, but not the right. There's a German word that describe people like you who move into a town and force your views upon it. The word is Arschloch. Flatlander is another good term for people like that as well, but that's more applicable to areas like New Hampshire and Vermont which has problems with invaders of their own.

Ann Arbor is not my type of town. It's a leftist paradise with heavy regulations on its citizens. If I move there, I wouldn't push for the courts and others to change the things there, especially the core things there. It's there city, not mine. If I moved there, I'd know what to expect, and accept that it is how things are done. If I didn't accept it, US-23 is right there. I respect that.

If this was a case opression or force by government or things like that, that is one thing. This isn't it. This is just Johnny come lately imposing his one man culture war on the established community and its culture. I can't stand people like that, whether from the left (California natives are notorious for that - which came the term Californicators) or even when it is from people on the right. Be good or be gone. That doesn't mean you have to agree with all the views of the community, but respect the community to which you move. Don't bring your crap here, leave it at your old place.

Mike Pence gives censorship a right hook

The Hill reports some good news on the First Amendment front. The elitist left wing of the Democrats (Dick Durbin, Dianne Feinstein) wanted to reinstate the so called Fairness Doctrine in their regulation attempts on the radio. This anti-Free Speech measure was rebuffed hard 309-115 with many democrats joining Mike Pence and others in their support of Freedom.

The House voted overwhelmingly Thursday to prohibit the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from using taxpayer dollars to impose the Fairness Doctrine on broadcasters who feature conservative radio hosts such as Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity.

By a vote of 309-115, lawmakers amended the Financial Services and General Government appropriations bill to bar the FCC from requiring broadcasters to balance conservative content with liberal programming such as Air America.

The vote count was partly a testament to the influence that radio hosts wield in many congressional districts.

It was also a rebuke to Democratic senators and policy experts who have voiced support this week for regulating talk radio.

House Democrats argued that it was merely a Republican political stunt because there is little danger of the FCC restricting conservative radio while George W. Bush is president.

Republicans counter that they are worried about new regulations if a Democrat wins the White House in 2008

I also find it ironic that the two leaders against Free Speech in the Senate are also two of the biggest gun grabbers as well. Durbin and Feinstein if nothing else, are consistent in their hatred for American freedoms.

The Roll Call vote is here. No Republicans voted against freedom here. In Michigan, the freedom haters are shown to be Conyers, Kilpatrick, Dingell, and Levin. Stupak and Kildee voted right on this, as did all Michigan Republicans.

FCC wants to censor more content, including cable

It's called a remote, use it. And don't even think about messing with 24 or the UFC.
From the Post

Federal regulators, concerned about the effect of television violence on children, will recommend that Congress enact legislation to give the government unprecedented powers to curb violence in entertainment programming, according to government and TV industry sources.

The Federal Communications Commission has concluded that regulating TV violence is in the public interest, particularly during times when children are likely to be viewers -- typically between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., FCC sources say.

(snip)

The report -- commissioned by members of Congress in 2004 and based on hundreds of comments from parents, industry officials, academic experts and others -- concludes that Congress has the authority to regulate "excessive violence" and to extend its reach for the first time into basic-cable TV channels that consumers pay to receive.

I have a better idea. Disband most of the powers of the FCC, limiting them to regulating signal interference. We have remotes. We have V chips. We have plugs. Let's use them. The last thing I want to see is government once again going after the Ultimate Fighter and 24.

One other thing, what's next. "Offensive Speech?" We're now seeing government pushing to stick his fat head into cable. These censorship goons are no different than the gun grabbers.

Howell Super Breiner shuts down school board's (his boss) candidate forum

So the "executive director" of the organization is shutting down a forum where two of his bosses will be elected. That's not right, folks, and Chuck Breiner did just that. From the Argus

The Howell school district is refusing to let the Daily Press & Argus use a building for a school board election candidate forum, even though officials had already given permission to use its facilities. Superintendent Chuck Breiner said the forum violates a policy that prohibits political campaigns in schools.
The decision was made even though the newspaper has hosted political debates at the Howell High School auditorium since 1998 — including four in 2006 — and had received permission to host a school candidate forum Monday at Hutchings Elementary School.

Campaigning? That's the biggest pile of horse manure that I've seen in a long long time. First off, Howell High School auditorum, which last I checked was part of a school on Howell grounds, has had candidate forums for various offices for years and years. I've seen many of those firsthand. Now all of a sudden, when it involves Breiner's own job, it's now banned on "campaigning?"

Secondly, this is not campaigning in the legal sense. This is an education opprotunity for the voters to learns more information about the candidates. If Breiner wants to ban "campaigning", then he could just say that no literature for the candidates, nor signs, are to be allowed on school grounds. Case closed. That is a much better decision that could have been made rather than flat out censorship of political speech.

Too bad for Howell that Chuck Breiner did not get the job in Saginaw.

There is good news however, the candidate forum has been rescheduled. Also from the Argus

The location for Monday’s Daily Press & Argus candidate forum for the Howell Public Schools Board of Education has been changed to the Howell Recreation Center at 925 W. Grand River Ave., just a couple blocks east of Howell High School.

The decision to change locations for the forum will stand, despite a press release issued by Howell Superintendent Chuck Breiner Thursday morning saying he would reverse his decision and allow use of Hutchings Elementary for the candidate forum.

Press & Argus editors explained they cannot risk having Howell Public Schools withdraw approval for use of the facility again.

The forum was originally set for Hutchings Elementary School. Permission for the event was withdrawn Wednesday by Breiner, who said the forum did not comply with the district’s policy against the use of school facilities for political campaigns.

The Daily Press & Argus has been holding candidate forums in the district for nearly a decade.

The event is set for 7-9 p.m. Monday. The Daily Press & Argus is soliciting questions for the candidates at elections@livingstondaily.com.