Yeah, baby. Via the Freep, with a sidetrip to Truthout, comes a story from the LA Times about how Obama's "Green New Deal" can create jobs, ease global warming and lessen our dependence on foreign oil all at the same time - and they point to the success of both Hemlock and United Solar Ovonic in Michigan as examples of how it will happen.
Between this and our burgeoning movie industry, those folks out on the west coast might start to think that we are OK after all.
On Dec. 15, the same week that General Motors Corp. and Chrysler begged $17.4 billion from taxpayers to stave off collapse, Hemlock announced a $3-billion expansion that could create hundreds of jobs. It's a rare piece of good news for this battered Rust Belt state, whose 9.6% unemployment rate is the nation's highest.
In contrast to Detroit iron, Hemlock's quartz-based polycrystalline silicon is in such demand that workers in white smocks and protective gear toil around the clock to get it to customers around the globe.
Will Congress work to make this happen? They would be foolish not to.
President-elect Barack Obama wants to spend $150 billion over the next decade to promote energy from the sun, wind and other renewable sources as well as energy conservation. Plans include raising vehicle fuel-economy standards and subsidizing consumer purchases of plug-in hybrids. Obama wants to weatherize 1 million homes annually and upgrade the nation's creaky electrical grid. His team has talked of providing tax credits and loan guarantees to clean-energy companies.
His goals: create 5 million new jobs repowering America over 10 years; assert U.S. leadership on global climate change; and wean the U.S. from its dependence on imported petroleum.
Besides Michigan, the article cites other examples across the nation of an industry that is hiring while other companies are downsizing. It also points out that government involvement has grown the industry (and the jobs that come with it) in other nations.
Worldwide, investors poured a record $117.2 billion into alternative energy in 2007, according to London research firm New Energy Finance. The costs of wind and solar power are dropping fast.
But the industry slowed in late 2008 as the U.S. financial system imploded. Plunging oil prices and frozen credit markets have derailed a number of renewable-energy projects. Some advocates say U.S. government support is needed to keep the sector moving forward.
That strategy has worked for Germany and Japan: Neither is blessed with abundant sunshine, yet these nations boast more rooftop solar arrays than anyplace else, thanks largely to government subsidies. That has created vibrant domestic markets for solar power and tens of thousands of jobs. Asian and European solar module makers dominate the industry.
Training workers figures in the success of the industry, and we get a mention there as well.
Michigan has started its own Green Jobs Initiative to retrain displaced factory workers for careers in renewable energy.
"If we can bend sheet metal for car fenders, we can bend it for windmills," said Ken Horn, a Republican state representative from hard-hit Saginaw.
A tavern owner, Horn said his regulars had been buzzing about green energy -- a sign that the industry was no longer considered fringe or radical.
Michigan's brightest renewable stars are in solar. United Solar Ovonic, a major producer of thin-film photovoltaics, operates three manufacturing facilities in Michigan and has two more under construction in the state.
Hemlock Semiconductor is a joint venture of two Japanese firms and Midland, Mich.-based Dow Corning Corp., which owns a majority stake.
Given California's high unemployment and budget woes, stories like this might cause us to see a migration of people back here. Word of warning: you probably won't like the weather.
Hemlock employs 1,400 full-time and contract workers in Michigan and expects to add 500 more in the next few years. The plant operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a week, never stopping, even in a recent blizzard.
Snow and ice couldn't keep Rich Steudemann from sliding into work on a recent morning. A mechanical engineer with more than two decades in the auto industry, Steudemann jumped at the chance to join Hemlock last fall as a quality-control expert.
"This is like the era of Henry Ford," said Steudemann, 45. "This industry is just starting to take off."
Want recovery? Get that stimulus passed, and get investing in green energy. The story also mentions how solar power was invented here through Bell Labs and NASA, and we let it get away. Let's not make that mistake again.
Very heartening to see positive news about Michigan being reported for a change.
President-elect Obama, after meeting with Nancy Pelosi this morning:
The reason we are here today is because the people can't wait. We have an extraordinary economic challenge ahead of us.
Must be that he missed the Ren and Stimpy Reid and Steny Show yesterday. Instead of the message of "Yes, We Can!", Democratic leaders on the talking head shows indicated their game plan was, "Maybe, We Will. Someday. But Not Now". Here's Stimpy:
"It's going to be difficult to get the package together that early," he said. Instead, he told "Fox News Sunday," lawmakers hoped to have it to the new president by mid-February.
Here's Ren, a little better:
Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, was more cautious about any deadline, saying simply, "We will work this just as quickly as we can." As to the amount of a stimulus package, he said only, "It's whatever it takes to bring this country back on a fiscal footing that's decent."
Sensing the opening that is being presented here, Mitch McConnell goes after the unemployed and uninsured first. Got to be able to pick up the easy meat with your eyes closed, right Mitch?
But Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the minority leader, agreed with Hoyer that the Jan. 20 goal was impractical.
Mr. McConnell also expressed reservations about the ideas of extending unemployment benefits to part-time workers or expanding government-assisted health care insurance. "Those are very big systemic changes," he told ABC's "This Week," and so warranted public hearings and deliberate bipartisan discussions.
And of course we need to revisit the idea that "tax cuts will solve everything", because that is the only way Republicans will ever agree to do anything good for this country.
He also urged Obama to support an immediate middle-class tax cut - possibly lowering the 25-percent rate to 15 percent - saying, "This is the sort of thing we could have bipartisan agreement on."
Was going to just let all this slide and chalk it up to impatient pre-inauguration overreaction on my part, but then Paul Krugman raised an excellent point:
Look, Republicans are not going to come on board. Make 40% of the package tax cuts, they'll demand 100%. Then they'll start the thing about how you can't cut taxes on people who don't pay taxes (with only income taxes counting, of course) and demand that the plan focus on the affluent. Then they'll demand cuts in corporate taxes. And Mitch McConnell is already saying that state and local governments should get loans, not aid - which would undermine that part of the plan, too.
OK, maybe this is just a head fake from the Obama people - they think they can win the PR battle by making bipartisan noises, then accusing the GOP of being obstructionist. But I'm really worried that they're sending off signals of weakness right from the beginning, and that they're just going to embolden the opposition.
When Krugman backs up your paranoia, you know you have a problem. Let's hope we are both wrong about this.
Two weeks to go. Let's put a little more effort into our message in the meantime, OK Dems?
As our economic crisis continues to worsen, some of the most vulnerable among us can not speak for themselves - Unwanted and abandoned pets. Missaukee Humane Society (MHS) is a small shelter in rural Northern Michigan, dependent on contributions to continue their mission of mercy. MHS is one of the only no-kill animal shelters left in Michigan. They are currently running on a deficit, and at full capacity. Many mornings, the staff arrives to find abandoned pets, left overnight by owners who can no longer afford to feed or care for them.
Right now, MHS is attempting to win a $10,000 prize from Adopt-a-Pet.com. Please, can you spare 30 seconds of your time to vote for MHS, by clicking on...
$10,000 could save literally hundreds of abandoned pets - Pets that give us nothing but unconditional love in exchange for an occasional pat on the head, game of fetch, and a couple of bowls filled with food and fresh water.
If everyone who has visited Blogging For Michigan in the past two weeks had voted for MHS, they would be a virtual lock to win the $10,000!
Because MHS is in a rural, sparsely populated area, they need as many votes as possible from all across the state, and all across the country. Please vote now at...
The one absolute, unselfish friend that man can have in this selfish world-the one that never deserts him, the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous-is his dog...a man's dog stands by him in prosperity and in poverty, in health and in sickness. He will sleep on the cold ground, where the wintry winds blow and the snow drives fiercely, if only he can be near his master's side. He will kiss the hand that had no food to offer, he will lick the wounds and sores that come in encounter with the roughness of the world. He guards the sleep of his pauper master as if he were a prince. When all other friends desert, he remains. When riches take wings and reputation falls to pieces he is as constant in his love as the sun in its journey through the heavens. If fortune drives the master forth an outcast in the world, friendless and homeless, the faithful dog asks no higher privilege than that of accompanying him to guard against danger, to fight against his enemies. And when the last scene of all comes, and death takes the master in its embrace, and his body is laid away in the cold ground, no matter if all other friends pursue their way, there by his graveside will the noble dog be found, his head between his paws, his eyes sad but open in alert watchfulness, faithful and true even to death.
- George Graham Vest, American lawyer and politician, 1830-1904
Good Morning Michigan!, Today is Monday, January 5, and this is the first GMM of 2009!
This week we're going to continue featuring Michigan churches in GMM. This is the First Congregational Church in St Johns, from OzinOh's flickr photostream.
Today In History:
1914 - Ford Motor Company proudly announced the $5.00/8 hour work day.
1925 - Mrs. Nellie Tayloe Ross of Wyoming, became the first woman governor of the US.
1933 - Construction began on the Golden Gate Bridge.
1972 - President Richard M. Nixon announced that NASA would proceed with the development of a reusable 'low cost' space shuttle system.
1975 - The Broadway premiere of The Wiz received enthusiastic reviews. The show ran for 1,672 shows at the Majestic Theatre.
(From Curtain Call's SYT Production)
1994 - Former U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Thomas 'Tip' O'Neill died at the age of 81.
1998 - U.S. Congressman Sonny Bono (R-CA) was killed in a skiing accident, at the age of 62.
CNN is reporting that Al Franken will be named the winner of the Minnesota Senate race later today. Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie told CNN that the recount determined Franken won by 225 votes.
After the announcement, there is a seven day waiting period before the election is certified. Coleman hasn't ruled out a lawsuit, and already has a petition before the court to include 650 ballots that he claims were improperly rejected.
There are none so blind as those who will not see, and there are none so dangerous as those who insist on clinging to their failed partisan ideology in the face of the need for real, comprehensive reform in state policy. And just like the budget battle of 2007, Mike Bishop is setting the Republican Senate up to dig in their heels and ignore reality, common wisdom, and expert reports on reducing Michigan's prison costs, and instead is focusing on the Richard Shelby solution to all of life's problems; busting union contracts and cutting worker pay.
First we have to highlight this laughable and disingenuous statement. If Bishop doesn't really like "cuts", then why has it been his answer to every single problem that we face?
"I don't like to say we've got to cut, cut, cut. I never thought I'd be in government to say that. But it is the reality of our times. This is the discussion we have to have."
And why does Bishop think that the Senate should be in control of that discussion? Voters made their wishes clear this past November on which party they would like to see take the lead on policy, would have cleaned out the Senate if they could have, but Mike, in all his arrogance, dismisses the House as "rookies" who need his guidance.
Speaker Dillon, care to respond to this one while it is fresh in everyone's mind?
In 2009, he said, the budget will be the dominant topic of discussion. The Senate will have to take the lead, Bishop said, since one-third of House members will be new to the job due to term limits.
Bottom line is: If we want to see real government reform, the last person we should turn to for leadership is Mike Bishop, and his statements on the issue of cutting prison costs is just one example of why. He has a one-track mind, and that track is simply "cut".
Every single study so far has indicated that Michigan's problem is mainly our high rate of incarceration as compared to other states. From prison policy experts, to state budget analysis, the number of people we lock up and the length of time we lock them up for are seen to be the culprit for escalating costs. In the interest of brevity, let's look at the report on state budget priorities from Public Sector Consultants for the Detroit Renaissance group. Big names like Sikkema, Lannoye and Rustem wrote this up, so you can't really claim a liberal or union bias.
Changes to criminal statutes and sentencing guidelines are difficult political pills to swallow. Legislators tend to be wary of proposals that would reduce sentences and make them look "soft on crime"-a stance that is typically reinforced by the law enforcement community and victim's rights groups. However, Michigan's prison incarceration rate is 45 percent higher than the average of the Great Lakes states. In order to reduce spending now, as well as for the long term, changes must be made to the state's approach to dealing with criminal behavior. By resolving to reduce the prison population to meet the Great Lakes average, Michigan's legislators will demonstrate their commitment to appropriate fiscal practices and recognize cost avoidance annually, up to roughly $400 million per year.
An important consideration when cost savings are achieved by lowering the prison population or reducing the time that a prisoner stays in prison is the reinvestment cost of releasing prisoners back into society. Initiatives to reduce the prison population and control spending must be balanced with reinvestment dollars (such as the Michigan Prisoner Reentry Initiative), which will improve the likelihood that prisoners who are released are not returned to the custody of the state system.
Basically, get them out, and have a support system in place so they stay out. That is where your biggest cost savings can be found - significant reform in the way we handle prisoners, both in sentencing, and reintegration with society. That is what the pros tell us to do. This report, and others like it, does take a look at state employee benefits as far as health care and pension concerns go, but you are hard-pressed to find examples where employee pay (except for overtime costs) are a major factor in reducing overall prison costs.
So, in the face of this evidence, why is Bishop insisting that employee pay is the problem?
Departments may have to close or merge and some of the state's 50,000 employees may have to take pay cuts, Bishop said. As an example, he points to the state's corrections budget, which amounts to more than is spent on education. Indiana, he said, pays its corrections workers half as much as Michigan.
"The solution is not just to close prisons and release prisoners. ... The solution is how we can afford our corrections employees," he said. "This isn't about hard-working people. This is about a system ... that isn't working."
And who does Bishop sound like when he lasers in on union employees, while conveniently ignoring the rest of "the system"?
It's the same message auto workers are hearing from Congress and many others in the private sector are facing.
And somewhere out there, with the dog-whistle that only the extremists on the right can hear, Betsy DeVos still whispers in the night, "Michigan workers make too much money".
We have a report coming by the end of the month from the Justice Center at the Council of State Governments that will show us the "series of steps to create a more effective and affordable crime fighting strategy for Michigan". Sensible reductions, such as overtime pay and restructuring of benefits will probably be included, and unions will probably be willing to take a look at any reasonable proposal put forth. After all, auto workers and other union members across the country have made concessions and demonstrated that they can be flexible given the current state of the national economy.
Question now is: Will Senate Republicans also demonstrate the willingness to compromise and apply some common sense when it comes to prison reform? Given Bishop's statements so far on the issue, it's not looking good for those who yearn for true leadership from the Senate. Bishop indicates that he thinks that the governor is looking to pass the solutions on to the next adminstation; it's too bad for us that his obstructionist and partisan behavior might be the reason why we end up having to do just that.
A number of atheists and non-religious organizations want Barack Obama's inauguration ceremony to leave out all references to God and religion.
In a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Washington, the plaintiffs demand that the words "so help me God" not be added to the end of the president's oath of office.
In addition, the lawsuit objects to plans for ministers to deliver an invocation and a benediction in which they may discuss God and religion.
Michael Newdow and other groups pushing atheism or religious freedom are behind the suit. You may remember Newdow. He unsuccessfully challenged the use of the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance and failed in his efforts to get "In God We Trust" removed from coins and paper money. He also filed unsuccessful suits over inauguration ceremonies in 2001 and 2005.
The lawsuit alleges that religious references are unconstitutional because they violate the separation between church and state.
As atheists, they contend, having to watch a ceremony with religious components will make them feel excluded and stigmatized.
Sigh... We are truly a large, dysfunctional country.
I just have to say this as someone who was raised in a blended family and raised 5 children in a blended family:
Please, can't we all just get along for one day? Put the hurt feelings and differences aside for now out of respect for our country, the Obama's and one another. Is that too much to ask?
Hey, want to lose 8 pounds in 3 days? Try FoodPoizoning XTreme, brought to you by some Chinese place in Lansing. Let me tell you why this diet plan is the best on the market today.
First of all, it's fast acting. It literally takes less than 12 hours to start working on your belly. And, the food tastes great (going down).
There's absolutely no exercise, except that which is performed by involuntary muscle reflex, AND you get to eat all you want and still lose weight!
This diet isn't for everyone. You must have access to a bedroom and a bathroom that are within just a few feet of each other. You should also NOT try this diet unless you are on an extended leave from work or school. This diet is not recommended for children, senior citizens, or the weak of heart.
Well this morning it seemed that the diet had run its course, so I decided to try out these cinnamon rolls that I've had in the fridge. The only problem was that they were the kind in the compressed can, and you remember how dangerous those can be? We don't even open those in the house anymore. So now imagine that kind of firepower with a little cup of frosting in there with the dough. In my weakened state, I would not be able to react quickly enough should the frosting cap become a spinning metal projectile. (Some say this is how Van Gogh lost his ear) But my grandpa always said that you have to stand up for what you believe in, and I believe I earned those cinnamon rolls. So I shut my eyes and ripped them open. (Fire in the hole!) Anyway it all worked out and the rolls were pretty darn good.
I didn't do much reading while I was sick dieting, so I'm not current on the news or the blogs. I popped into my local forum to see what the natives are up to, and I found this awesome picture of the Keno screen at Steve's Place, downtown Owosso -
There's a new Sheriff in my town. The new year is looking good already.
To put people back to work today and reduce our dependence on foreign oil tomorrow, we will double renewable energy production and renovate public buildings to make them more energy efficient. To build a 21st century economy, we must engage contractors across the nation to create jobs rebuilding our crumbling roads, bridges, and schools. To save not only jobs, but money and lives, we will update and computerize our health care system to cut red tape, prevent medical mistakes, and help reduce health care costs by billions of dollars each year. To make America, and our children, a success in this new global economy, we will build 21st century classrooms, labs, and libraries. And to put more money into the pockets of hardworking families, we will provide direct tax relief to 95 percent of American workers.
Republican members of Congress finished counting their latest raise in pay, looked up and said, "What? Help the American people? Create jobs? Reduce health care costs? Fix the infrastructure of this country? Educate children? Are you crazy? That might lead to waste and fraud!"
Mitch, you forgot "abuse". Geez, you can't even get the talking points right. It's no wonder y'all got thrown out of office in such massive numbers. Nevertheless, rumblings from the party of "fiscal responsibility" indicate that obstruction of the mandate delivered by the voters is in order here.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) voiced skepticism today about the emerging economic stimulus plan, applying a brake to Democratic plans to quickly pass up to $850 billion in spending and tax cuts soon after President-elect Barack Obama's Jan. 20 inauguration.
"As of right now, Americans are left with more questions than answers about this unprecedented government spending, and I believe the taxpayers deserve to know a lot more about where it will be spent before we consider passing it," McConnell said in a statement, which will be publicly issued later today.
NOW he cares about the "taxpayers". Right. Tell us another one, funny guy.
Obama already told you where the money is going, Senator. It's going to be spent trying to revive the economy and country that you destroyed. But, if you want to stop that from happening, well, must be that you really haven't learned anything yet, and we will just have to kick more of you out of office in 2010. The Republican Party will have smaller numbers than the Greens by the time this is all over.
(This is appalling. Boycott AirTrans. - promoted by Kathy)
'Flying While Muslim,' the New 'Driving While Black'
WE SHOULD JUDGE OURSELVES BY HOW WE TREAT OTHERS !
Did you know that a family of American passengers were removed from DC flight recently for no good reason. They happened to practice the Muslim religion, or because of it!
There were times last year when I was a bit miffed with Mark Brewer for seeming to be single-mindedly obsessed with the removal of Cliff Taylor from the Michigan Supreme Court, but this "goodbye to conservative rule" article from the AP tells me that maybe Brewer had the right idea in getting this guy gone. We all knew Taylor was a bad egg and the Court was stacked in favor of the wingnuts; a synopsis of Cliff's last days in office, his parting shot, and his plans for the future really tell the tale of the last nine years of rightwing judicial "activism", all in one piece.
Change is coming to the Court in Michigan - and that is a real good thing.
Conservatives' nine-year reign on the Michigan Supreme Court ended this week when Republican Chief Justice Clifford Taylor worked his last day, clearing the way for a more liberal judge who beat him in the November election.
Democrat Diane Hathaway's swearing-in next week likely will lead to different rulings by the high court, but it remains unknown if the shift will be sweeping or narrow. GOP justices still hold a 4-3 advantage, and the outcome in key cases will be controlled by a swing justice: Republican Elizabeth Weaver.
The thought is that Weaver will be more sympathetic to the "little guy" when it comes to taking on insurance companies and big business interests. Time will tell. For now, we can wave goodbye to this behavior-
With the change in power nearing, the court in December issued a number of decisions earlier than normal. Justices ruled in 19 of 23 cases they heard since the term began in October. Seven were 4-3 rulings with Taylor and three Republicans in the majority and Weaver and two Democrats in the minority.
Taylor, 66, acknowledges the timing of the decisions was intentional, saving litigants from having to reargue their cases and putting his stamp - not Hathaway's - on more cases.
In some of those cases, that "stamp" was to deny a rental home owner insurance coverage on fire damages, worker's comp for an employee with a busted leg, and the long-running denial of pain and suffering damages to auto accident victims. Real man of the people was 'ol Cliff.
Taylor then pulled out the standard Republican boilerplate hypocrisy when it comes to the future of the court. Make sure you accuse others of what you have done yourself...
"The court is going to be now composed of a majority of judicial activists," Taylor said.
Critics counter that conservatives have been no less activist in their determination to protect big business and insurance companies at the expense of the little guy.
... as you ride off to Monaghan's Wingnut Retirement Ranch in Florida to train future extremists on the art of how to serve only the people that share, and financially contribute to, your narrow (and now thoroughly discredited) worldview.
Taylor and his wife, Lucille - who was Engler's chief legal counsel - will become visiting professors at the Ave Maria Law School in Naples, Fla. He also may look at advising parties on appeals strategies.
Be sure and check out the Everglades, Cliff. Bet you will feel right at home with the other creatures that live by the law of the swamp. For us, it's time to bring some long-deserved legal justice to the citizens of Michigan, and not the kind that is dictated by the Chamber of Commerce only.
The Financial Post has a compilation of "The best financial jokes of 2008" gathered from e-mail messages that made the rounds throughout the year.
These were some of my favorites:
"Get my broker, Miss Jones."
"Yes sir. Stock, or Pawn?"
The market may be bad, but I slept like a baby last night. I woke up every hour and cried.
The credit crunch has helped me get back on my feet. The car's been repossessed.
This was funny too.
President Bush said that he is saddened to hear about the demise of Lehman Brothers. His thoughts at this time go out to their mother as losing one son is hard but losing two is a tragedy.
Bush isn't the only clueless leader in Washington. Fortune Magazine reminds us of the "21 Dumbest Moments in Business 2008," including this one:
At least he warned us: On the morning of Sept. 15, as Lehman Brothers declares bankruptcy, Republican presidential candidate John McCain declares "the fundamentals of this economy are strong."
By day's end, the Dow falls more than 500 points, the date becomes known as Black Monday, and McCain starts backpedaling fast.
Maybe we should have seen this coming: In late 2007, McCain admits "the issue of economics is not something I've understood as well as I should," adding, "I've got Greenspan's book." -- By Nina Easton, Fortune Washington editor
Don't feel bad, John. The issue of economics is something your fellow Republicans don't understand either.
Somehow, all this adversity has to become opportunity. And that is entirely possible. Why? Because more and more people in Michigan have stopped looking in the rearview mirror and started figuring out the road ahead. It has taken awhile -- and a lot of pain -- but we understand now that what was will not be again, and our focus is finally shifting to what's next.
Their prescription for the state sounds vaguely familiar... where have you heard all this before... wait, it will come to you...
That can be Michigan. Maybe not in 2009, but 2010 is not out of the question if we lay the groundwork this year.
How?
By applying our vaunted work ethic to improving and expanding education at the child and adult levels so we have a population smart enough for the jobs of tomorrow.
By leveraging our health care institutions and world-class university system to make Michigan a center for treatment, cures, research and progress on the amazing frontiers of science and medicine.
By fostering the small businesses that are actually creating jobs and attracting the young, college-educated people that Michigan desperately needs to retain.
By using our natural resources and brainpower to truly become a center for the one thing, guaranteed, the world will need in the 21st Century -- energy from sources other than oil.
If you answered Michigan Promise Scholarship, the Kalamazoo Promise and subsequent legislation that will create more "promise zones" throughout the state, No Worker Left Behind, 21st Century Jobs Fund, Centers of Energy Excellence, MEDC recruitment and MEGA credits, the RPS, the passage of the stem-cell ballot proposal, and many other examples of how we are already doing all of the above... congratulations, you have been paying attention.
The DNews can be summed up with the same old story, same old song and dance, my friends.
Cut taxes! Cut government! Fix the roads! Gee, and here we thought that maybe they learned something from last year. Or the year before that. Or the year before that. Guess not. And neither has the Port Huron Times Herald. Won't they be surprised when they find out that Bishop just got done raising fees on various Michigan services.
The Bay City Times echoes the Freep on alternative energy and education. They "get it".
The trend for Michigan's future has become obvious. In almost every respect, it involves energy.
Very nice editorial. Grit, determination and common sense. Much applause.
Yesterday, I began thinking of my yoga training and the influence of my dear teacher Pam Schap (owner of the studio where I teach) and my teacher who trained me as a yoga instructor, Sandy Carden. Both have influenced me greatly through their words, actions and their being. And it was from their great teachings, and a quick google search that the following ideas came together.
So often we set out to make a New Year's Resolution. The trouble with this practice is that so often our resolutions are guided by negative feelings we hold about ourselves. Needing to loose weight because we are unhappy with how we look, stopping some habit that stems from our self-loathing, etc.
As a part of the training I did for yoga teacher certification was an intense study of the ancient yogic practice of Yoga Nidra. Yoga nidra is a meditation technique that guides you to such a deep level of relaxation, you are incredibly open and receptive. Nidra actually means sleep. If you can ever find an opportunity to participate in the practice of yoga nidra, I would highly recommend it. When you begin the practice of yoga nidra you state your sankalpa. A sankalpa is an affirmation, intention, or prayer stated in the present tense. Popular sankalpas include, I am peace, I am happy, healthy, and whole.
"The sankalpa is a chosen resolution made during the practice of yoga nidra. It could be said that the main purpose of yoga nidra is to realize one's sankalpa. Whether this is true or not, sankalpa has the potential to release tremendous power by clearly defining and focusing on a chosen goal. Its effect is to awaken the willpower within by uniting the conscious awareness with the unconscious forces lying dormant. It takes the form of a short phrase or sentence, clearly and concisely expressed, using the same wording each time, to bring about a positive change in one's life. Now the important question arises: How to choose the appropriate sankalpa?"*
This New Years I invite you to take some time to identify your sankalpa. Rather than creating a resolve to be different for a whole year, create a positive intention for how to be in the present moment. It is ludicrous to try to change your behavior for a whole year by beginning in a self-deprecating style. So this year I invite you to see yourself in your most positive, true light and to let that light shine in this present moment and for many more present moments to come.
One last time to my favorite local breakfast nook for '08. The trip served a purpose; having recently jumped off the Motorola bridge and diving into the world of the BlackBerry, I needed to test the wireless capabilities on tethering to the laptop, and this is one place that I had had limited or non-existent access before. So, off I went with a goal in mind (besides the food), and I'm happy to report that it works just like I thought it would. Could surf the 'net using the phone as a modem, just like all the other wired geeks in our modern day world, and I sat and marveled at all the technology under my fingertips.
Wow, this IS fun, I thought. And on the heels of that, as I looked around the place, I thought, my, how things have changed.
Back in 'da day, you would walk in, grab a newspaper, order your breakfast, get that cup of coffee, and light that cigarette while you read your paper and waited for your food. That small restaurant was divided into "smoking" and "non-smoking" sections, and what a complete and total joke THAT was, but no one really cared all that much back then. If they did, they just didn't go there, and those folks were a very distinct minority. At that point, the "non-smoking" section was the smaller of the two, rather cute and quaint and usually not very populated.
That restaurant that I speak of is under new ownership and totally non-smoking now. The old owners had opened a new place down the road many years ago, a place that has two separate rooms (but still share the same air), and I had followed them and their food when they went. I sat at that counter today, reading the news on the computer, and yes, drinking that coffee and smoking that cigarette with all the other (paying big taxes in the state of Michigan) lepers in the smoking section, and the first story that hit me in the eye was this-
A smoking ban in one Colorado city led to a dramatic drop in heart attack hospitalizations, according to a new study that is considered the best and longest-term research to show such a link.
The rate of hospitalized cases dropped 41 percent three years after the ban of workplace smoking in Pueblo, Colo., took effect. There was no such drop in two neighboring areas, and researchers believe it's a clear sign the ban was responsible.
The study suggests that secondhand smoke may be a terrible and under-recognized cause of heart attack deaths in this country, said one of its authors, Terry Pechacek of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
I cringed with guilt. The addict that lives in my brain is resigned to the fact that this is the way we need to go. While I would still like to see exceptions for certain businesses (no, not the casinos, but tobacco shops and cigar bars), the evidence is overwhelming that this stuff kills. Probably going to kill me someday. That is my problem - but it shouldn't be the problem of the people sitting across the way, in the "non-smoking" section.
They are smoking, whether they like it or not, and I can't justify that. Maybe the restaurant can, but I struggle with it. I don't want to subject people to this poison.
I don't mind waiting. I don't mind going outside. It actually helps me cut down when I can't smoke. I do have a time limit before I will start climbing the walls from withdrawal though; airports and other public modes of transport (I'm thinking train stops) should let you go outside if you want. That is where I get a little peeved at "bans", when I'm trapped. But for the rest of the world, I have no problem with a ban. Our previous Legislature obviously did, and that is a shame.
We will see a ban here in Michigan eventually. I hope that it doesn't have to come in the form of a ballot proposal. That seems like an incredible waste of money when the legiscritters could just make it happen, like it has in the rest of the civilized nation. And as every cell in my body screams out for "my best friend" in nicotine, I realize that eventually we are going to have to part.
I'm going to make a serious attempt to cut down this year to pay for the phone. I'm smart enough to know that I can't quit cold turkey; I've tried that before and it sent me into junkie sweats and nausea like you wouldn't believe. Can't take the drugs out of the fear of tipping into a full-blown depression; anything that blocks "pleasure centers" in my head have the potential to be very dangerous and might kill me quicker than the heart attack that is waiting to happen down the road. Plus, I don't really want to quit, and, having quit all the other "fun" stuff in my life, I know that wanting to is one of the biggest factors in the battle. I'm not there yet.
Things have changed, things are changing, and maybe someday I will want to change for good as well. It's in my thoughts, and that's a start. I finished that cigarette as I bounced around the internet on the laptop, and played with the little phone that got me there. The food finally arrived.
And then another thought hit me. I smiled, I put all the toys away, and for old times sake - I grabbed a newspaper. Pretty soon that will be obsolete at the counter as well as that indoor cigarette, and they both will be a memory of the last day of 2008.
Well it took me a while, but I am finally posting the wrap up for Troop Care 2008. (See the other shopping & shipping diaries here and here.)
First, let's talk numbers. We raised about $1450 in product and cash. I'm "best guessing" on the value of the products, but several people donated items such as books, towels, make-up, and so on. I had some pictures of these items here.
In terms of cash, we raised $1200 total, and I am proud to say that nearly half of that came from people in Shiawassee County. Of that, we spent $371.90 on shipping. Some pics:
This is the full shipment, waiting to be loaded to go to post office.
A group of Grand Rapids area folks who are disturbed by Israel's violent bombing of Gaza over the past week are calling on others to denounce Israel's bombing of Gaza and to show support for the Palestinian families living there.
To date, Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip have killed more than 375 Palestinians and injured more than 1,400. Many are civilians, women and children. Many, many more have had their homes and their livelihoods destroyed...yet again.
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has vowed "a war to the bitter end." Why? It's an election year. Yousef Munayyer, policy analyst for the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, wrote in the Chicago Tribune, "In Israel, it is time to be tough. Not because being tough will stop rocket fire from the Gaza Strip, but because being tough will get you elected. With elections upcoming, the incumbents have a direct advantage over the challengers because they are in the position to create, and act upon, issues of national security to prove their ability to handle these challenges...Israel and Hamas were at their most peaceful state in the history of their coexistence for five months this year. During the Egyptian-brokered truce, aggressive attacks plummeted and for the first time in years, the alarm sirens indicating incoming rocket attacks had largely fallen silent."
Not only is the recent bombing campaign about getting out the vote, US tax dollars are funding it. From 2001-2006, the U.S. transferred to Israel more than $200 million worth of spare parts for its F-16s and more than $100 million worth of Apache helicopter parts. In July 2008, the U.S. gave Israel 186 million gallons of JP-8 aviation jet fuel and signed $1.9 billion worth of combat ships. And, we signed a $1.3 billion contract with Raytheon to transfer thousands of TOW, Hellfire, and "bunker buster" missiles to Israel.
• WE DEMAND AN END TO THE ISRAELI BOMBING OF CIVILIANS!
• WE DEMAND THAT THE US STOPS FUNDING ISRAEL ($3 billion annually) UNTIL REAL NEGOTIATIONS BEGIN AND THE ISRAELI OCCUPATION OF PALESTINIAN LAND ENDS!
Contact the White House, the State Department, your Representative and Senators to protest Israel's war on Gaza. Demand an immediate cease-fire.
• Debbie Stabenow (616) 975-0052, http://stabenow.senate.gov/con... • Vern Ehlers, Ford Federal Building, 110 Michigan St., Grand Rapids, MI 49503, (616) 451-8383, www.house.gov/ehlers/contact_vern.shtml
• Carl Levin, Ford Federal Building, 110 Michigan St., Grand Rapids, MI 49503, (616) 456-2531, http://levin.senate.gov/contact/ • White House: 202-456-1111 or comments@whitehouse.gov
• State Department: 202-647-6575
• Write a letter to the editor of The Grand Rapids Press, pulse@grpress.com, 150 Michigan NW, Grand Rapids MI 49503.
• Phone into your favorite local talk show.
The action is being planned by an informal group, Brunch & Revolution, which meets monthly to discuss ways and take action to create social justice through meaningful change.
Good Morning Michigan!, Today is Wednesday, December 31, and this is the last GMM of 2008!
This week we're featuring Michigan churches in GMM. This is St. Marks, in Grand Rapids, from OzinOh's flickr photostream.
Today In History:
1879 - Thomas Edison gave his first public demonstration of incandescent lighting.
1947 - Roy Rogers married Dale Evans.
1955 - General Motors became the first U.S. corporation to earn more than one billion dollars in a single year, with a net income of $1,189,477,082.
1967 - Playing in a wind chill of 40 degrees below zero, the Green Bay Packers won the National Football League championship. The game, played at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin was called the Ice Bowl.
1975 - Elvis Presley performed before 60,000 fans at the Silverdome in Pontiac, MI. He earned $800,000 for the concert -- a world record for a single concert by a single artist. My mom went to this concert. I still have her ticket stubs. :)
1985 - Ricky Nelson, his fiancee, Helen Blair, and five members of the Stone Canyon Band were killed in a plane crash a mile southeast of DeKalb, Texas.
1997 - SkyNet Microsoft announced the purchase of Hotmail.
The bailout of General Motors has raised a legitimate question: What good will it do if customers can't get the financing to buy vehicles?
I support the bail out bascially because from Flint we have very little option. We should still question.
Did you know GM's US sales dropped 41% in November. The car maker explained the drying up of GMAC's own financing was the principal reason for the crash in sales. Personally I think you can tell a General Motors executive is lying by the movement of its lips. Its too bad there is not a crime for incompetence.
We learned last night our government is now shelling out cash to keep the industry afloat. A $5 billion stake in GMAC, the financing arm of General Motors to prop up the company was announced by Treasury. Our government will lend GM as much as $1 billion so that it can buy more equity in GMAC.
GMAC finances about 80% the wholesale purchases of GM's cars by dealers world-wide.
The tax money will come from the Troubled Asset Relief Fund , TARP,the 700 Billion Dollar tar pit our government has set aside to rescue the American financial system pillaged by the greed and incompetence of Wall Street (code for Rich guys and Gals).Remember this is in addition to $17.4 billion in previous emergency loans.
General Motors and an outfit called Cerberus Capital Management owned GMAC. Watch Bush he is no above helping a lot of rich guys on the way out . Did you know John Snow, a top player at Cerberus, was the Bush administration's Treasury secretary before Henry Paulson.
Monday evening surprised some (main stream media) but for most of us was not entirely unanticipated.
On Christmas Eve the Feds allowed GMAC to become a bank holding company, an action that permits it to receive TARP funds.
The strings: GMAC had to convert 75% of its debt to equity by last Friday at midnight. However, earlier Monday the company refused to say if it had met the goal by the deadline.
What? The people giving our tax money to these private business people said they would not do it unless GMAC raised new capital, which the company tried to do through a debt-equity swap that expired Friday.
GMAC'S goal was to raise $30 billion by converting 75% of its issued debt into preferred-stock holdings. The bondholders of GMAC are not cooperating. Last week, less than 60% of bondholders had signed on and the offering had been extended four times.
The government's role in the industry is becoming open-ended, the Treasury Department said Monday it had set up a separate program within the Troubled Asset Relief Program with no limits.
Okay lets recap.
1.We give $717 Billion dollars to the auto industry which is failing.
2.The industry cannot retun to prospeity without financing so we are bailing out a desperately floundering finance company.
3.We allow the troubled finance company to become a bank. It cannot be any worse than any of the other monoliths that are failing.
4.This done on the condition that it had to convert its debt to equity and it will not tell us if has complied.
5.We still gave them the money.
These numbers are so big we are numbed and no longer question. Just who is watching this evolve that we can trust to understand and tell us the truth?
The Republican Treasury has scrambled to spend the first half of the TARP pot of gold. It seems the only accountability congress imposed was that in order to receive the second $350 billion the administration will need to submit a report to Congress explaining how the funds will be used.
Outgoing Republican Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said that the remaining amount will need to be tapped, though it is not clear whether he will do it. Do you wanna bet on that one?
Part of the deal with the auto makers is that they would be forced into bankruptcy by the end of March if they did not come up with viable restructuring plans.
We could be throwing good money after bad.
At this point we have no other choice.
But, just who can we rely on to be telling us the truth?
From the winter at Valley Forge in 1777 to the snow-laden mountains of Afghanistan in 2008, Americans have sacrificed for their country.
But here at home, now prowl adversaries who in many respects are more dangerous to America than any military opponent we have faced. These adversaries seek to destroy our religion and morality, which George Washington proclaimed were the very foundations of our political prosperity.
Militant atheists in alliance with those at the ACLU are well on the way to achieving their ultimate goal - to de-Christianize America.
"The government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion."
Ratified unanimously by the Senate in 1797, and signed by President John Adams.
You can't de-christianize something that was never christianized. (Says this Ojibwa whose grandfather was forced into the Catholic Church by the US Government)(My family is big on the separation of church and state)
The Thomas More Legal Center is based in Ann Arbor, and is standing strong against"the cultural elite, Hollywood, the television industry, the mainstream news media, academia, public schools, the legal community, and a significant portion of the judiciary." As well as "enraged homosexuals" who "menace Christians" and "vandalize churches."
Good grief. They must be exhausted. I wish I could help them, but I'm busy fighting off giant mutant agriopes sent here from Planet Gork. (They're trying to colonize) It never occurred to me to use this as a fundraiser though.
So you can donate to Thomas More or donate to my valiant struggle against the Gorks. Or, if you're sane and want to spend your money fighting a real threat, please give to to the Michigan ACLU.
Hey, want to lose 8 pounds in 3 days? Try FoodPoizoning XTreme, brought to you by some Chinese place in Lansing. Let me tell you why this diet plan is the best on the market today.
Yesterday, I began thinking of my yoga training and the influence of my dear teacher Pam Schap (owner of the studio where I teach) and my teacher who trained me as a yoga instructor, Sandy Carden. Both have influenced me greatly through their words, actions and their being. And it was from their great teachings, and a quick google search that the following ideas came together.
