In response to the loss of freedom they fought to defend, the Baraga American Legion mounted [...]]]>

In response to the loss of freedom they fought to defend, the Baraga American Legion mounted an effort to defy the new smoking ban law.

Openly choosing not to comply with the ban that exempted Casinos, the Foucault-Funke Post 444 in Baraga County finally had to relent when a judge forced them to.

Judge Goodman’s decision was centered around the idea that the law is justifiable since government has the task of protecting the public from health hazards.

Legion officials contend the smoking ban is unconstitutional, but Judge Charles GOODMAN ruled that there’s a “sufficient likelihood” that Western Upper Peninsula Health Department and the Department of Community Health will succeed in the lawsuit and ordered the post to quit allowing smoking immediately.

“Whether one agrees with the provisions of the Smoke Free Air Act or not, it cannot be seriously argued that the Act was not passed and signed into law in order to promote the public health,” Goodman wrote. “Evidence certainly exists which supports a finding that cigarette smoking and/or the inhalation of secondhand smoke is deterious to one’s health, and clearly, the Legislature has the authority to pass laws which limit people’s exposure to health hazards.”

Goodman wrote that many laws are unpopular with some. The motorcycle helmet law is one. However, no court should be authorizing a blatant violation of the law until a court declares the law unconstitutional, regardless of the “economic” damages the Legion Post officials are concerned of.

“Oftentimes, constitutional acts have an economic impact. Because a law may impact a person or entity negatively does not necessarily mean that the law is unconstitutional,” Goodman wrote.

Goodman’s decision is based on a false premise. It is not constitutional for government to dictate what private business chooses to allow in it’s establishment. For Goodman to be correct, the government, not the private property owner would have to own the establishment.

A restaurant or bar or club is not open to the public, memberships and requirements are needed to belong to the American Legion or the VFW. A restaurant owner has the right to refuse service to any one for any reason. A restaurant or bar is not a public place, it is a private business.

Not only is the judge wrong-headed about the law, so is GARY MCDOWELL, who is currently trying to become the Congressional Representative for Michigan district 1, which includes Baraga County.

Upon voting for and applauding the ban, McDowell said, “Thirty-six states already have passed this legislation, it only makes sense that Michigan takes this step to protect the health of our residents.”

The law exempts certain cigar bars and tobacco specialty retail stores because those businesses feature smoking as the primary source of their commerce. The plan also exempts the gaming floors in the Detroit casinos.

Michigan’s Upper Peninsula is home to many Indian tribe casinos and it’s small business bar owners are hurting, since the ban does not apply to the casinos.

C.J. Williams has reported,

The Detroit casinos were purportedly exempted because lawmakers believed those non-tribal businesses would be competively disadvantaged by tribe-owned casinos, which are not subject to the smoking ban. The closest to Detroit, however, is about 130 miles away in Standish. On the other hand, Post 444, located on the L’Anse Federal Indian Reservation, is about a mile away from the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community’s Ojibwa Casino and its Press Box Sports Bar & Grill. Another bar and grill, also exempt from the smoking ban, is about one-tenth of a mile away.

The State of Michigan gets a hefty kick-back from the Detroit casinos in the form of a gaming tax, which in 2009 was a little over $320 million. Had the legislators allowed those casinos to become competively disadvantaged, they’d have been cutting off their collective nose to spite their collective face.

With eleven tribally licensed casinos in the Upper Peninsula’s fifteen counties and because of their location, virtually every veteran organization establishment in the U.P. has been placed at an economic disadvantage. In fact, Bill Hafeman, American Legion State Commander, notes that many legion posts throughout Michigan have reported decreased usage of their bars and restaurants, though he didn’t specifically say it was caused by the smoking ban.

I recommend the entire post by C.J. since it is quite thorough.

Dr. Daniel Benishek responded to McDowell’s Ban on Smoking back in May, saying,

Don’t these guys have anything better to do? Aren’t there bigger problems in the state than this? Shouldn’t a business owner, on his own private property be able to make his own rules? I don’t like people smoking when I’m eating dinner, but it should be up to the restaurant owner and what he decides to do. If I didn’t like it, I would go somewhere else to eat. We can still do that. So, I think people should have a choice on how they run their business. They can’t be regulating every single aspect of our lives, yet that’s what they seem to be wanting to do.

From a facebook entry:

U.P Invasion

Time
Friday at 4:00pm – October 17 at 4:00pm
Location ESCANABA [...]]]>

From a facebook entry:

U.P Invasion

Time
Friday at 4:00pm – October 17 at 4:00pm
Location ESCANABA 10/15/2010 4:00PM 1101 Ludington Street, Escanaba MARQUETTE 10/16/2010 10:00am & 2:00pm (two shifts) 832 West Washington, Marquette SAULT ST. MARIE 10/17/2010 12:00pm 2303 Ashman, Sault St. Marie
Created By
1st Congressional District of Michigan – Democrat
More Info SEIU Locals 517M & 526M will be sending people to the Upper Peninsula this weekend to knock doors for our next Congressman Gary McDowell.
If your schedule permits join Jim & Dorothy Johnson as we help them help Gary!

Be aware that the people in these towns knocking on doors for Gary McDowell belong to a union that is the parent company of ACORN.

ACORN is short for Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, and it’s activists are radical leftist socialists.

From Michigan Votes:

2009 House Bill 4406 Introduced by Rep. John Espinoza (D) on February [...]]]>

From Michigan Votes:

2009 House Bill 4406 Introduced by Rep. John Espinoza (D) on February 24, 2009, to require the report to the state that physicians must file after performing an abortion to include the ethnicity of the mother if she is Hispanic.
Signed by Gov. Jennifer Granholm on July 13, 2010.

Like the commenter on Michigan Votes, I cannot for the life of me figure out why this was raised in our legislature here in Michigan. It’s completely odd, and there is no explanation. It raises more questions. Gary McDowell voted for it, along with all the Republicans and most of the Democrats, which highlights the baggage problem most career politicians are having this election year.

What McDowell says,

You make a very good point, just so you know the [...]]]>

What McDowell says,

You make a very good point, just so you know the statistic is out there, 70% of your total healthcare in your entire life is spent the last three months of your life. And as a society, if we can’t get a control on that, we’re not gonna be able to provide the healthcare up front, we’re not gonna be able to you know, provide for our children’s education, and we won’t be able to provide for all the other things we need to do first, as a society. Because we are taking so much money for healthcare at the end of life. And the reason is, I’ve mentioned this before, that our healthcare system is based upon procedures, doing these procedures with real expensive gadgets and whistles and bells.

The first time I was running for office, my first campaign manager, I brought that statistic up, and as a society, we only have so many resources out there, we only have so many resources for healthcare, or education, or protecting our environment, or public safety, and we have to decide how we are going to allocate those resources to get the most we can get out of it. And she told me, “Don’t you ever, ever say that again.”

But we have to realize that as a society, that eventually, we are going to have to make some tough decisions, individually, working with your family, your surgical and also with your healthcare provider on what’s the best course.

WE MUST REPEAL IT!

We only have so many resources available for healthcare, and we have to decide how we are going to allocate those resources.

That is [...]]]>

We only have so many resources available for healthcare, and we have to decide how we are going to allocate those resources.

That is a direct quote from Gary McDowell (D) Rudyard, when he was at a town hall, answering a question from an unknown attendee. McDowell is running for congress here in Michigan’s First District.

The question was, “I was more diplomatic in not mentioning the end of life, you must come from a secure district, (laughter) but it is an inconvenient truth, and I think as a community and as adults, we need to face it.” Meaning, we must address the end of life now that we are talking about the government taking over the healthcare system.

Notice McDowell doesn’t say, “You and your doctor will decide about your options when you get sick,” or, “Your health is not a government matter,” or, “Your family loves you more, and can help decide about such personal matters.” No. He characterizes the end of life as a matter of money and the inevitable lack of it for the elderly.

A video has been posted by many bloggers from youtube, you can click here to view it.

Let’s not forget what our government plans to do with us, and let’s stop playing games with words. I specifically did not tell my grandmother about this yet, because she is so upset with the government right now, and her nerves can’t take it. She, like many of the elderly, worry more about when her children get older then she worries about herself.

But she still votes.

The School Aid Budget of 2009 was decreased the per pupil [...]]]>

The School Aid Budget of 2009 was decreased the per pupil annual grant to schools as a result of Democrat lawmakers including Gary McDowell. The idea was, to make the State less burdened by school aid, because Federal Stimulus dollars were going to fill the shortfall.

McDowell shows us what he does in his free time in Lansing.

The consequence of such actions is, as the Citizens Research Council point out in their publication, “The Fiscal Year 2011 School Aid Fund Budget: A Day Late and a Few Million Dollars Short” to burden the State further the following year, this year, because the stimulus payment was a one-time deal. So, of course, now that the State aid was decreased last year, and there are no Federal stimulus dollars this year, we now have a huge burden on Michigan Taxpayers, and less money for schools.

This would appropriate $12.948 billion, compared to $12.823 billion for FY 2009-2010, and $12.863 billion recommended by Gov. Granholm (contingent on a $557 million tax increase).

One comment on Michigan Votes lays it out in a plain-spoken way, “So-called economic stimulus money from the federal government should not be used to cover the ordinary operating costs of ongoing State programs. It should be used to stimulate the economy by funding projects that will actually create new work and jobs.”

But Gary McDowell perhaps didn’t think ahead on this one, perhaps blindly following his party off the cliff, and taking Michigan with it.  As Michigan Capitol Confidential explains it, Michigan is, thanks to people like Gary McDowell, heading for a “guaranteed catastrophe.”

Thanks Gary.

Bart Stupak stuck his nose in the MI01 race for the first time, and embarrassed himself. Stupak is bumbling around, trying to win the MI01 seat for [...]]]>

Bart Stupak stuck his nose in the MI01 race for the first time, and embarrassed himself. Stupak is bumbling around, trying to win the MI01 seat for another Obama pawn, Gary McDowell. Using an answer that Chad “tool of the left” Stevens asked Dan Benishek about the War on Drugs, Stupak and McDowell thought they could muddy up Dr. Benishek’s reputation.

The Petoskey News-Review has the story and the youtube of Benishek answering the question.

The Northern Michigan Liberty Alliance put on the vetting forum, and by the way, invited Gary McDowell who was a no-show. By watching the video, you can see that Dr. Benishek was clearly speaking about less government at the federal level, putting the power in the hands of the people at the local level.

The libertarian kook faction of NMLA who held the “vetting” forum in Mackinaw City on Labor Day weekend, insisted that, (while the rest of us are focused on slowing down and stopping this administration, the greatest threat to our liberty,) Benishek answer a question on the War on Drugs.

Ah yes, the war on drugs, such a huge liberty issue when this administration and the modern Democrat Party is bankrupting the nation, bowing to dictators, increasing misery through taxation, and forcing centralized control. These guys don’t seem to pay attention too well, they believe that we are already so far gone, that this Obama thing is nothing new. Tools of the Left.

However, in order to show how out of touch the Democrats are on the issue of constitutionality, Chad “the tool” may just have been helpful to the Right for once.

Let’s remember that Stupak took an oath to uphold the Constitution 9 times in the last 18 years, and he spit on it every year. I wrote about Stupak last November in, “Bart Stupak doesn’t agree with Madison and Jefferson,” where I point to Stupak’s interview with Frank Beckmann, that “not everyone agreed with Madison and Jefferson,” and used it as a reason why he believes Obamacare will be held up as Constitutional by the Supreme Court.

From that post:

Things get a little contentious here, and this is why I like to listen to Beckmann. He rightly points out that no where in the Constitution does it allow for the government to take over the health care industry. Bart insists it does say so in Article I, Section 8 with the words the left have been using to bring the country to point it is today with rampant socialism and welfare programs that have done nothing but create a dependent society-”The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to…provide for…..general welfare….”

When Frank tells Stupak that we must look for the intent of the signers like Madison to understand the article, Bart says, “not everyone agreed with Maderson (sic) and Jefferson,” and that if the government agrees that it is in the best interest of the nation, it is constitutional. Frank replies:

Congressman with all due respect, if you are promoting that, with all due respect, I think you are promoting tyranny. You are not following the constitution which says, that there are ways to change the Constitution through amendment, and a majority vote in the congress is not one of them.

This statement befuddles Stupak to the point that Frank has to reiterate that the Constitution places restrictions on congress, and Bart still doesn’t get it, and says if you don’t agree that what the one-party rule says in Washington, take it to court.

In that post, I include the whole 17 minute interview, and it proves just how ignorant Stupak is. McDowell is no better.

Big-government-crony-capitalist-tax-and-spenders–that’s what they are, and nothing, not even the Constitution will get in their way.

The most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the government and I’m here to help.

The most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the government and I’m here to help.
Ronald Reagan

The great election year of 2010.

In today’s Presque Isle Advance, three Democrat politicians issued statements in favor of getting funding for carbon capture, which Wolverine will not get unless there is an air quality permit granted by Jennifer Granholm.

My question is, where were they last year?  Or the year before?   The Michigan DEQ did it’s work to make sure the plant would be safe for the area in October of 2008.

Sen. Carl Levin, Sen. Debbie Stabenow and Rep. Bart Stupak each sent letters of recommendation to the DOE secretary in hopes of luring the funding and benefits to Michigan. PIAdvance 4/28/10

The three Democrats are writing the Secretary of Energy, Steven Chu, to beg for your federal tax dollars to subsidize carbon sequestration technology.  Mind you, Stupak says, ” Michigan is a prime location for demonstrating the feasibility of carbon sequestration technology.”  Demonstrating the feasibility means, like I discuss in Part 20 of this series,  carbon capture and sequestration is an undeveloped process, and we, the rural citizens of Northern Michigan are supposed to bear the cost of trying to develop it.  All because of Al Gore and his junk science.  Even though it is not a mandate, nor a regulation, nor a law, Wolverine has to anticipate, that with this overbearing and controlling administration, that it will be necessary, eventually.  The money these politicians are seeking is about 176 million dollars.  Can I put this bluntly?  We are talking about regulating air!  Carbon Dioxide! The audacity of the Democrat Party here is ridiculous.

In Part 8, I use this quote to show just how long this air permit has been held back:

“The average time for a permit right now is running at about 70 days,” Dolehanty said. “But these applications for power plants have been in house as long as a year and one-half.” Wolverine submitted its air permit application September 26 of last year. Consumers Energy submitted its application October 15, Mid-Michigan turned in its application September 12 while Holland Board of Public Works submitted its application January 17, 2007.  PI Advance 7/3/08

Where were these Democrats December 6th of 2007, which would have been 71 days after submission of the application for the permit?  Or March 26th, 2009 which would have been one and a half years after the application was submitted?  Or how about the 399 days since then?   Could it be an election year?  Yes it is, and the Democrat Party is looking to ‘help’ Rogers City.  These three politicians are part of the Obama administration, and although they are not campaigning for office this year, this notice is a direct signal that they are posturing to make the Democrat Party look like they are good guys, giving Rogers City hope, when in fact, if it wasn’t for them and their interest in controlling everything, this project wouldn’t be so costly, and the ‘funding’ would not be necessary.

The good news is, this means we should have the permit in no time. The bad news is, Wolverine has had to undergo a lot of political bull to get this far, and it ain’t over.