| First off, we nod to acknowledge the 9th Court of Appeals decision today tossing out Proposition 9, the homophobic California ballot initiative that forbade the state from endorsing same-sex marriages. This is a Michigan blog about Michigan news and politics, so what's this mean? The Michigan homophobes who pushed and got Proposal 2, which ultimately was used as a rationale to take away the right of local governments to extend domestic partner benefits, shrink increasingly into a boil on humanity's ass. Yet, somehow they're still making the rules. I leave that to you, dear reader, to do with what you will. Onward! *--Peter Hoekstra invoked every bad Chinese stereotype to pander to the far right of his party, something that didn't work since they endorsed the other guy. Laura Berman points out that the China we're supposed to be afraid of is not the China of the Hoekstra ad, which is the China that evokes images of the Vietnam War. *--Republicans like Peter Hoekstra's ad, but hate Clint Eastwood's pep talk to America. I remember when Dirty Harry was the Republican mayor of Carmel ... when did he go liberal squish? The answer: He didn't. You have to ask yourself about a political party that embraces race-baiting political advertising but hates ads that suggest that America's best days are yet before her. Again, this is a party to which Reagan wouldn't be welcome. *--The Lansing State Journal is the latest paper to advise state Republicans to avoid Right to Work, and instead embrace benevolent overlord Rick Michigan's business-oriented collaborative approach. Those guys haven't shown any inclination to collaboration, instead favoring division and faction. Meanwhile, the News orders labor to accept the shit sandwich being put together in the kitchen of the Legislature and be happy that it's not worse. *--Senior citizens surprised to find out that not only do they have to pay more in taxes, but that tax payments are being deducted automatically from their checks. This was necessary so that most LLCs don't have to pay taxes ... even if they continue to consume government services just to operate. *--Tim Walberg avoids questions of why House Republicans are huddling with business lobbyists to set the annual GOP agenda. The reason? Tim Walberg is one of Club for Growth's paid-for boys in Congress. *--A broken clock strikes the right time. *--An editorial that shouldn't have ever needed to be written: America's Shoutiest Mayor should avoid using racially charged language to promote the Lansing casino. *--It's nearly unanimous: The state's universities deserve better funding, and voters don't like the idea of creating a single university board to oversee things (and allowing the Legislature to meddle in how they operate). |
