Interesting comment

LiamGadfly responds to my "brilliant" analysis: I respond to him.

MLive.com: Muskegon Town Talk Forum: "6410.4.1.1. Not so fast Gordo...
by LiamGadfly, 6/10/05 12:23 ET
Re: Cook's closed? by Barman241, 6/10/05

"... It's always sad when a business closes its doors but our system of competition and innovation has given us the world's greatest economy."
While I don't deny that the free market is the best of all possible worlds, to say that that the flood of cheap consumer goods that have inundated our economy is a result of a "free market" is disingenuous to say the least. (true, ours is not a perfect "free market", but it's the freest in the world today) It is more the result of one sided trade policy that gave us nothing in return. (nothing in return? They give us goods and we give them IOUs. Who comes out better in that deal?) It is also the result of low wage countries dumping underpriced goods on us. & when we have squandered the last of our wealth on all these trinkets & baubles, then where will we be? With nothing left to invest in our antiquated infrastructure, or to invest in attracting new business's or new manufacturing capacity, or a base from which we may support our government @ all levels, etc. etc. etc. We also will be left with no jobs to provide the wealth to keep it all going, including the current buying spree, as well as to support the minimum of government services, that we all have come to rely upon. (Interesting, but do you have any facts to support this doomed scenario?)
Gordo, to say that we have the worlds greatest economy is to truly view it through rose colored lenses. This is especially true of someone sitting in Muskegon - America's poster child, for a stagnating local economy. (Thankfully, the Muskegon/Michigan model for an economy is not shared by the rest of the country. Our national economy is, by almost every measure, as strong as it has ever been.)
There are some inherently disturbing trends in our economy that if not addressed could literally take us from solvency to a third rate entity in no time @ all. The loss of manufacturing is the most glaring. (Surely you're not suggesting that a job working in a foundry or steel mill is "better" than working at a bank, movie studio or software company or any of the other service sector jobs in America) The loss of markets & the loss of production acreage to urbanization in agriculture is another. (Come on, take an airplane ride and look out the window. Then tell me about the loss of production acreage. We have more land being paid not to farm than many countries have being farmed) A third is the over valuation of real estate markets due to easy monetary policy which has been used as a lubricant to fuel residential & commercial construction, in order to fill the void that the loss of manufacturing has left in the GNP. When even the usually taciturn Saint Greenspan speaks of a bubble in the housing markets, then I get nervous. (No arguement about a RE bubble in some markets but RE bubbles happen all the time. It's just that the media is selling it as something that's never happened before (it has, many times) and something that will affect the entire country in some massive and terrible manner. (It won't, never has before.) Add to all of that the increased Global demand for oil, & the Hundred Year War for oil that we have just begun to engage in, then I don't see the picture as being so rosy. But when you are caught in the middle of the throes of a shop till you drop frenzy, it is hard to be objective & not walk around in the high of denial. But believe me, a day of reckoning will come, & you are not going to like the result. Muskegon's economy may just be a early indicator (a canary in the coal mine) of what is to come on the economic front. It may be an example of the long term chronic economic stagnation that will become embedded & common in much of the rest of the country for some time to come. So enjoy your big flat screen TV while you can, because eventually you may have to cue up for expensive rolls of toilet paper just like they do in Russia, unless of course the dollar becomes worthless enough to use as a substitute. ;-)
(Pretty much the standard doom and gloom, half empty rather than half full argument I've seen repeated ever so many times. You're going to have to back up the gloom with some facts first. Thanks for the input.

More leftist hate

Victory, a Michigan blog, posts this outrage. No wonder "they hate us". The world's leftists spew a never ending tsunami of this hate inducing garbage to the citizens of their countries ever day.
Victory welfarE: "TV show depicts 9/11 as Bush plot
A fictional crime drama based on the premise that the Bush administration ordered the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and Washington aired this week on German state television, prompting the Green Party chairman to call for an investigation."

And how 'bout this itty bit of "unbiased" reporting from the good folks at ABC.( courtesy MediaResearch.org)
3. ABC: North Koreans Hate Americans, Offer Great Music/Art for Kids North Koreans are isolated from outside information and fed a steady diet of anti-American propaganda, but that apparently doesn't make the anti-American comments from regime operatives, or citizens with minders standing nearby, unnewsworthy to ABC.
"There are large gaps in what the world knows about the North Korean leader and his people," World News Tonight anchor Elizabeth Vargas noted before asserting that "many North Koreans, it seems, have strong opinions about Americans." From Pyongyang, Bob Woodruff went aboard the captured USS Pueblo and relayed how the "officer who gave us a tour today said the ship's an example of American crimes and another reason Koreans don't like Americans." The uniformed woman declared: "They invaded to our territory, and they supplied information, so all Koreans were angry." Woodruff traveled to a collective farm where he found an 11-year-old girl who said of Americans: "They killed Korean people." Finally, Woodruff went to the "Children's Palace" where "5,000 North Korean kids are trained after school in music, art and sports." The video showed healthy kids in colorful uniforms paying instruments, painting and dancing.
Plus, they've got free health care!

Ummm. Good crow...

I love being wrong! I thought this deal was a bad one for the GOPers and the Country. It looks like I can eat my crow with a smile on my face. Decision 08 http://decision08.blogspot.com/ rubs it in.

Decision '08: "Today's Must-Read: The NY Times On Judicial Nominations
The true test of the compromise lies ahead, says the NY Times, but of course, that begs the point that critics of the deal were saying we would only get three nominees without a fight. Well, we've got five, and the Time article suggests the sixth will follow Monday. Remind me again what we lost? I'm having a hard time remembering. Ohio Republican Mike DeWine gets the last word:"

Dean done?

I can't imagine a GOP Chairman lasting near this long with similar gaffs and the mis-leadership of Dean. What must democrats be thinking? One of the brightest of the group is Ford and he's not hiding his opinion.

JustOneMinute: Harold Ford Missed The "Get Behind Dean" Memo:
Harold Ford Missed The 'Get Behind Dean' Memo
Dems are rallying behind Dean, but Harold Ford of TN missed the memo. From his appearance on Imus this morning:
June 9, 2005
Imus: 'On another note here, speaking of the Democratic Party, which you are a member of, how's Howard Dean working for you?'
Rep. Harold Ford Jr.: '(Laughing) I won't have him down so many times in Tennessee on the campaign trail with me. He has made some comments as of late that really speak to a lack of understanding I think, of the country, a lack of understanding of faith and values. I'm a Democrat and I'm a God fearing one. I grew up in church. Christianity is not reserved for white males"

Today's grads face uncertain future, but with hope - 06/10/05

I pine for the good old days when every graduate had a "certain" future. This is all Bush's fault! Aren't newspapers getting better?!

Today's grads face uncertain future, but with hope - 06/10/05: "Friday, June 10, 2005
Today's grads face uncertain future, but with hope
By Betty DeRamus / The Detroit News"

17 Chinese Restaurants Raided in Mich.

We had two restaurants raided in Muskegon. It's amazing to me that the stated reason for the raids was tax evasion and saving the illegals from being "indentured servants". They're here illegally for gosh sakes! That illegal Chinese were in Muskegon has hardly been a secret to me and certainly not a secret to the police. I've seen them in Meijers and outside waiting for the bus. Is the new political correctness that law enforcement will never be used to deport illegals but only to protect them?

Newsday.com: 17 Chinese Restaurants Raided in Mich.:
17 Chinese Restaurants Raided in Mich.
By JOHN FLESHER
Associated Press Writer

June 9, 2005, 5:35 PM EDT

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. -- Authorities raided 17 Chinese restaurants around Michigan that they suspect of ducking millions of dollars in taxes and importing undocumented workers as a 'modern version of indentured servants.'
Search warrants were also served at 21 homes of suspected undocumented Chinese workers. Dozens were involved in the scheme, State Police Lt. Curt Schram said. "

WZZM13 GRAND RAPIDS Friday, June 10, 2005

Weening the children into good little socialists. This is the fiscal mentality that got GR into its current financial mess. Will we never learn......

WZZM13 GRAND RAPIDS Friday, June 10, 2005:
Grand Rapids Summer Meals Program -Parks and School Locations

The Grand Rapids Public Schools Food and Nutrition Services Department will be sponsoring the USDA funded Summer Meals Program again this summer in locations through out the city. Meals will be available Monday through Friday, beignning June 13."

Way too much at stake to continue county's impasse

Like many who love to talk and don't don't have the spine to act, the Chronicle's Gang of 3 dare not suggest the specifics of the "anarchy" nor do they hint of any path out of the "impasse". If Bill Gill was not "Bill Gill", he'd be out in a minute because of his unprofessional and rude behavior. There most certainly is a big reason why Muskegon is "Muskegon" and the surrounding communities are thriving. Leadership. And The Chronicle has supported politically correct, inept and corrupt leaders at every level in this community as far back as anyone can remember.
Way too much at stake to continue county's impasse: "Way too much at stake to continue county's impasse
Sunday, May 29, 2005
Was Tuesday's abortive Muskegon County Board of Commissioners meeting a new low for that body? Perhaps not, but there's still another meeting set for June 14! Actually, we don't recommend any further attempts at diving deeper; there's too much at stake for the county's citizens, who have to live with the consequences of commission anarchy.
Anarchy is not overstating the case. The last chairman resigned in the middle of his term, the commission's vice chairman adjourned the last meeting to avoid being passed over in the line of succession, and no one seems to have a solid grasp of Robert's Rules of Order, which are supposed to bring order to such chaotic meetings. "

Howmet union OKs landmark pact

This is great news. Maybe this is the end of suicidal unionism in Muskegon. But, it sure looks like the union bosses did a poor job of explaining the new contract to the rank and file the first time. Maybe someone ought to look into that story? Come on Chronicle show some class and tell us (and the union members who almost voted themselves out of their jobs) what really happened!

Howmet union OKs landmark pact: "Howmet union OKs landmark pact
Thursday, June 09, 2005
By Dave Alexander
CHRONICLE BUSINESS EDITOR
Members of United Auto Workers Local 1243 made a dramatic turnaround on a tentative five-year agreement with Howmet Castings and approved the labor contract Wednesday after turning it down two weeks ago. "
"The key was a clarification of the health insurance," Burton said. "They now understand the plan and the sharing of costs, which is a new concept. Overall, this was a good package."

The contract provisions did not change from the first vote to the second vote, she said.

Leaders debate ways to sell tax increases to 'frugal' residents

How 'bout this for an alternative headline: "City taxpayers united in desire for frugal city government". How many times do we, the citizen, have to fight the same fight?

Leaders debate ways to sell tax increases to 'frugal' residents: "Leaders debate ways to sell tax increases to 'frugal' residents
Wednesday, June 08, 2005
By Nancy Stier
CHRONICLE CORRESPONDENT
Looking for help in getting voters to provide more property tax revenue and change the city charter, Norton Shores officials summoned more than 20 community leaders to suggest how they should get the job done. "

Does The Chronicle see the light?

Wow! The Gang of 3 at The Chronicle finally admit that it IS the taxpayers who pay ALL of the bills!
But, that "very low tax rate" is still troubling. I guess some things never change.

Much depends on successful end to Howmet talks: "Taxpayers will end up paying regardless
The city of Norton Shores is ready to start slapping on user fees for police and fire services. While residents may find that their insurance companies will pick up the cost, ultimately, though, it seems clear that the taxpayer will get hit regardless.
Responsibility for this chain of events is the growing gap between city tax revenues and the cost of services. Despite Norton Shores' very low tax rate as a city, residents have been consistently unwilling to approve any hike. While city officials have kept trying, it strikes us that voter refusal is in keeping with a long tradition of Norton Shores history in which many still think of their home as 'the old township.' "

Much depends on successful end to Howmet talks

Chronicle editorial. I never cease to be amazed at such lazy commentary. If this really is such an important issue, why not a complete, detailed analysis of the differences between the parties and the specific points of the rejected contract. Apparently, it's not THAT important. And they wonder why we don't read them any more.....

Much depends on successful end to Howmet talks: "But make no mistake. Much depends upon a successful outcome. Given the importance of the company to our community, it can be said with assurance that how goes Howmet, goes Muskegon County. "

Granholm tight-lipped on DeVos candidacy

Leave it to the MSM, The Chronicle and democrats in general to suggest that being a wealthy, successful executive of a company that has provided so much positive support to West Michigan could be a negative. Ah, but they still love the Kennedys....

Granholm tight-lipped on DeVos candidacy: "There was a big elephant in the room Saturday, but Gov. Jennifer Granholm refused to pay it any attention.
There was a big elephant in the room Saturday, but Gov. Jennifer Granholm refused to pay it any attention. ....

"I'm not going to talk about a campaign that's 17 months away," she said, anticipating news media questions about her potential Republican rival, Dick DeVos, the Ada resident and former Alticor chief executive officer who broke the news last week he was running for governor. .....

Democrats are sure to pound on DeVos' image as a wealthy heir, leaving some Republicans to ponder how he will deal with that tactic.

The kids get it right!

The kids realize that the lefty, anti-military liars and their willing enablers in the MSM can't be believed. Cool dude!
The Huffington Post The Blog: "06.04.2005 Eugene Volokh
Could College Students Know Something Bloggers Don't?
Bill Diamond writes:
But given all the talk about the possible reinstatement of the draft, why aren't we hearing more from the nation's campuses? ........I wonder: Could it be that college students don't really think 'all the talk about the possible reinstatement of the draft' means anything? From what I've heard, the talk is mostly from people who don't like the Administration, who oppose the war in Iraq, and who are using the talk to argue against the war.
The Administration is saying it doesn't want a draft. The political party in power in Congress seems to have no interest in reinstating the draft.

Commissioner: City 'close to receivership'

This is really pathetic! This "city" was rolling in cash after it initiated its jobs and business killing taxes. And promptly began pissing it all away. And media hailed the new tax $$$ as the best thing since sliced bread.And then began their drumbeat for Muskegon to do the same thing. Maybe their suggestion will be an EVEN BIGGER TAX? Sickening!
Commissioner: City 'close to receivership': "Commissioner: City 'close to receivership'
Friday, June 03, 2005
By Theresa D. McClellan
CHRONICLE NEWS SERVICE
When Third Ward City Commissioner James White wanted to bring home the city's dire financial straits to a group of residents Thursday, he held two of his fingers close together and said the city was 'this close to receivership.'
'The city is broke, and we're scared to death downtown,' White said during a public gathering at his Southeast Side church.
When a city goes into state receivership, it is unable to pay its bills, employees don't get paid and its bond ratings plummet. A struggling Detroit is wrestling with that question now, as it faces a $300 million deficit in next year's budget. "

Where would the left be without their Myths?

I can't tell you how many times I've heard this one, at least 100 times in the last year. I'm thinking that one reason Frank and his cronies may hear it (assuming he's really telling the truth. A stretch.) is because they write about it so often.

For Al Qaeda, Must-Read NYT?: "The Myth of a 'Myth Fostered By the Administration' on 9/11, Hussein Link
The Myth of a "Myth Fostered By the Administration" on 9/11, Hussein Link


Frank Rich's Sunday column begins with an excoriation of ineptitude over the rebuilding of Ground Zero, but soon reverts to Bush-bashing: "The myth fostered by the administration that Saddam Hussein conspired in the 9/11 attacks is finally dead and so, apparently, is the parallel myth that Iraqis were among that day's hijackers."

Never mind that Bush has never suggested Hussein was involved in 9/11, saying in September 2003: "We've had no evidence that Saddam Hussein was involved with September the 11th."

The lefty journalist plague spreads!

What is it about leftist writers that compels them to insert a political slam into everything they write? And how can any reporter covering the Indy 500 not know that, not only Indy cars, but ALL cars sold in the USA haven't had carburetors in years? Oh, it's the NYT. Nevermind.....

For Al Qaeda, Must-Read NYT?: "Female's Indy 500 Finish Highlights Bush's Ignorance of Women

Sports columnist Selena Roberts nabs a front-page Sports section pole position Monday with her piece on Indianapolis 500 racecar driver Danica Patrick, who finished fourth in Sunday's race, the best-ever finish for a female driver. But Roberts spins the feel-good piece into a diatribe against Bush and in support of Title IX, a liberal law Roberts has championed in previous columns.

In "A Heady Apex, But Is a Dead End Just Up Ahead?" Roberts writes: "No Indy driver was under more scrutiny, no rookie racer was the object of more camera lenses. And yet Patrick refused to play the runaway bride as she withstood the pressure to take a remarkable fourth-place finish despite a pit-stop stall, a spin and a few dinks. Does this performance make her the aberration next door, or an average gal who digs a steady diet of carbs, as in carburetors?"
(Actually, the Indy 500 has been carburetor-free since 1964, in favor of more efficient fuel-injection systems.)

More objectionable than Roberts' apparent ignorance of auto racing is the next line: "It is very conceivable that the gap-toothed David Letterman understands what revs a woman's engine more than the gender-gapped George W. Bush." (Letterman cosponsored Patrick's racing team.)

Road money could benefit Muskegon

If the City of Muskegon would keep their stop lights coordinated, much time and gasoline would be saved. And the cost is minimal. But that would be too much to ask. We need to spend millions $$ before we're interested. Bummer.
Road money could benefit Muskegon: "But it would pay for studies in each area to determine the need for interchanges; property that might be needed for eventual interchange construction; or short-term street design improvements to help alleviate congestion, Dey said. "

Survey: Michigan schools expect cuts to continue

Notice that nowhere does anyone mention the "phrase we dare not speak". Teacher compensation. That's salary, benefits AND retirement cost. No, we can't go there. Everyone knows, for sure, that teachers are underpaid. If that's true, why can't we, the people who pay the bills, see exactly what the true costs of teachers and administrators really is.

Survey: Michigan schools expect cuts to continue: "The survey found that 51 percent of school districts expect they will have to lay off employees next school year. About 81 percent said they plan to reduce staff by attrition.
About 65 percent of districts said they would reduce spending on supplies and services. About 79 percent said they would have to dip into their fund balances, a type of savings account, to help pay bills next school year. "

Muskegon Air Fair 2005

The early reservations are up 40% over last year! Saturday's Flight Line Club is already sold out. Get movin' Muskegon if you want to see the best Air Show in the Midwest.
Muskegon Air Fair 2005

The Five Dumbest Things on Wall Street This Week

This company is in real trouble! Miserable management and suicidal union members. Great combination!
The Five Dumbest Things on Wall Street This Week: "Stocked with a hefty supply of last year's vehicles, General Motors (GM:NYSE - news - research) unveiled a new sales strategy this week. Like many of GM's previous strategies, the one unveiled Wednesday calls for steep discounts.

Unlike the other plans, however, this one has bigger implications. It kicked off with a press release reading, 'GM is Proud to Invite America to be Part of its Family.'

Sound like a little too much commitment? Not to worry. The idea is to give buyers preferential employee-discount rates and simplified pricing.
'We firmly believe that once consumers have the opportunity to drive a GM vehicle, they'll know what we, and millions of loyal GM customers, already know about the value represented by the cars and trucks that we build,' said GM marketing exec Brent Dewar.
You can't blame GM for trying something new. The company posted a 12% sales drop for May. Earlier, it reported a huge first-quarter loss that led to several recent trips to the bond-rating junkyard, as analysts fretted over the company's pension obligations and financial position.
Yes, sounds like just the sort of big happy family everyone is itching to join. "

The one single, constant.........

... in dying American cities is the belief that county, state, or federal funding ("free money") and/or corporate charity is their only hope for growth. Of course, that fiscal intoxicant is as false an answer as alcohol or drugs to a human addict. The major difference between the individual junkie and our what our misguided political bosses (and their enablers in the media) do to our community is the scale of the destruction. Oh yeah. Dying cities also think that increasing taxes on businesses is a great idea.

Our nation feels a special sense of loss on this day

The Gang of 3 gets it right this time. Good show!
Chronicle Editorial
Our nation feels a special sense of loss on this day: "Our nation feels a special sense of loss on this day
Monday, May 30, 2005
Memorial Day. The name itself explains the special purpose of the day: to honor the dead who gave their lives in defense of our nation. We honor, too, those who have served and are no longer among us, either through the ravages of wounds or age.
Republicans and Democrats, liberals and conservatives, red states and blue -- all of us fortunate enough to be alive and free today -- should be united by a common respect for, and a bond shared with, these fallen defenders. All Americans, wherever they stand along the divide that separates us on the great issues of the day, know full well that we are able to argue about such things only because we have the freedom to do so.
That freedom has been dearly won by those who have given everything in defense of it. "

Turkey Power!

OpinionJournal - Best of the Web Today: "William the Conqueror Is Turning in His Grave
'Norman Man Attacked by Turkeys'--headline, Associated Press, April 3"

At least 11 killed in Pakistan attack, riot - South and Central Asia - MSNBC.com

Ok. Let me get this straight. al-Qaida murderers bomb a mosque and the mob burns down a KFC and kill 6 of their own citizens? And the American left tells us to focus on "abuses of Abu Ghraib". Yeah, right.

At least 11 killed in Pakistan attack, riot - South and Central Asia - MSNBC.com: "KARACHI, Pakistan - A mob angered by an al-Qaida-linked suicide bombing in a Shiite mosque set a KFC restaurant on fire in overnight rioting, killing six employees and bringing the day's overall death toll to 11, police said Tuesday."

Arthur Anderson verdict thrown out!!!

Wow! They're not guilty...... well, not so fast my friend. The Supremes through out the guilty verdict because the first judge gave the jury improper directions. The case will likely be retried. Let's see how the media plays the real story. I'm not too hopeful.....

That New Youk accent!

I'm hearing more folks with that New York/Brooklyn accent on local radio and TV commercials. Don't those advertising folks realize that accent is a turn off to most mid-westerners? They call our part of the USA "fly-over-country" and still expect us to "listen up" when they want our attention.

Our next US Senator?

Keith Butler. Republican. Black! From Detroit!
Very interesting and competant man. He's the leader so far...

gas prices down=no headlines

Golly! Gas prices are down and The Chronicle doesn't have it on the front page. Amazing. Maybe it's in there somewhere.....
I guess we'll have to wait till Georgie is gone until we can some good news reported by The Gang of Three.(G3)

They really do hate us!

The eastcoaster media types do.
This is stunning. The contempt that this East-coaster exhibits an excellent insight into how the liberals in the elite media view things they know nothing about. Toby Keith and bad dressers! If only they ruled the world.....

'Sunday Money' and 'Full Throttle': Nascar Nation - New York Times:
"For a certain segment of the population, Nascar's raid on American culture -- its logo festoons everything from cellphones to honey jars to post office walls to panties; race coverage, it can seem, has bumped everything else off television; and, most piercingly, Nascar dads now get to pick our presidents -- triggers the kind of fearful trembling the citizens of Gaul felt as the Huns came thundering over the hills. ..... stock-car racing represents all that's unsavory about red-state America: fossil-fuel bingeing; lust for violence; racial segregation; run-away Republicanism; anti-intellectualism (how much brain matter is required to go fast and turn left, ad infinitum?); the corn-pone memes of God and guns and guts; crass corporatization; Toby Keith anthems; and, of course, exquisitely bad fashion sense.
.......No other sport is so captivating to so many yet so utterly uncaptivating to so many others. If the latter aren't repulsed by the deep-fried spectacle of a Nascar event, with its schizo mix of beery loutishness and Promise Keeper piety, then they're bored stiff by the racing itself. Stock-car racing is, it's true, a competitive variation on commuter traffic: it involves a bunch of sedans ferociously trying to get to the front of the line, making it no different, fundamentally, from Friday afternoons on the West Side Highway. This is what irks the detractors -- the only thing worse than being in traffic, they contend, is watching it -- yet, paradoxically, makes up a major chunk of its appeal. The cars the drivers pilot -- modified Chevy Monte Carlos, Ford Tauruses, Pontiac Grand Prix -- are not so different from the cars Nascar fans use daily to pick up their groceries, shuttle their kids and get themselves to work....
Read the whole thing.

Force Rumsfeld to defend every new base closing

Jeepers, the Chronicle's Gang of Three thinks that the Sec. Def and the Joint Chiefs don't nothin' 'bout base closings. The Chronicle's Military geniuses are "stunned". Maybe they could use some up front experience honing their skills on the front lines in Iraq?
Force Rumsfeld to defend every new base closing: "Force Rumsfeld to defend every new base closing
Thursday, May 19, 2005
One might have thought that four rounds of stateside military base closings -- in 1988, 1991, 1993 and 1995 -- would have been enough for the Pentagon to achieve the efficiency and streamlining it needed.
But Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld wants more, having just proposed closing 33 major bases, including Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota, the Groton (Conn.) Submarine Base and America's oldest but still highly capable Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Maine. All of these facilities represent major parts within the strategic core of U.S. military power. For America's Secretary of Defense to recommend these bases closed without a whimper from the Joint Chiefs of Staff is just stunning.
So debate, as it should, will be intense over this latest list of proposed closures as they are reviewed by the independent Base Realignment and Closure Commission before being presented to President Bush for approval in September.
Take Portsmouth, for example, an installation the Navy just cited as having 'consistently and superbly performed their mission while establishing a phenomenal record of cost, schedule, quality and safety performance.' Obviously Navy ships, from small frigates to nuclear-power aircraft carriers, are incredibly costly and complex, and must be maintained and upgraded in order to fill their mission reliably. Closing bases like Portsmouth narrows the list of experienced shipyards to a tenuous few. These are vital assets.
The Groton submarine base could serve as another example of how the nation's strategic defense stands in danger of being compromised for what appear to be dubious savings. Groton's irreplace"

Timing stoplights

Communities that don't do it will suffer. Muskegon and Muskegon Hgts are the worst offenders. People will avoid downtowns where traffic is stupidly planned.

King of the Hill

Hank Hill quote:
"Newsweek, not in this house"
Gotta love it!

Katie Curic on saving gasoline!

On the Today Show, the perky one tells us all how she used to keep her windows opened when driving to save on gas, rather than use the car air conditioner. Yeah, right. How dumb does Her Perkiness think we are? Oops, Good Morning America just passed Today in the ratings.

Walmart story

I was shopping at Walmart on Sherman when I heard this endering cellphone conversation by a jumbo mother with her 5 kids in tow:"are you out of jail yet honey?
Gotta love the experience!

CC Valedictorians

Congratulations to the 6 valedictorians and 2 (3.99) salutorians of this year's Muskegon Catholic Central graduation class. But isn't it a sad commentary that 8 students out of the relatively small class got 100% on everything for 4 years running? It's either that kids are getting a whole lot smarter or the dumbing down of our schools. Gee, I wonder what businesses who hire young folks would say......

Arabs blame Jews!

This is like blaming McDonalds because you're fat. And still eating 7 Big Macs a week.
Power Line: "Getting it backwards
The UN Development Project has released its 2004 report on Arab development. It finds that a good portion of the blame for the Arab world's lack of progress lies in the creation of Israel 57 years ago, and in the support by the U.S. for Israel's existence since then (our presence in Iraq hasn't helped either). That's right -- 300 million Arabs live under oppression because 5 million Israeli Jews live in freedom, supported by the U.S. "

Chronicle SOLD!

Nugent

Posted by Hello

The end of Television

News Forum Home Page: "
The end of analog TV
MSNBC, by Michael Rogers Original Article
Posted By: Photoonist - 4/25/2005 3:06:56 PM Post Reply
Depending on the outcome of discussions in Congress, television as we know it may end at exactly midnight Dec. 31, 2006. That�s the date Congress targeted, a decade ago, for the end of analog television broadcasting and a full cutover to a digital format. If enforced, that means that overnight, somewhere around 70 million television sets now connected to rabbit ears or roof-top antennas will suddenly and forever go blank, unless their owners purchase a special converter box. "

Chronicle weather depression!

Leave it to The Chronicle to find the down side of everything.
Too-nice weather has some downsides
Saturday, April 16, 2005
By John S. HausmanCHRONICLE STAFF WRITER
It's official: The first two weeks of April were the warmest ever in Muskegon.
And one of the sunniest and driest. Unfortunately for firefighters, the dryness is expected to continue at least until the middle of next week in most places.
You've heard of too much of a good thing? Maybe this is it.






For April 1-14, Muskegon's average daily temperature -- that's the midpoint between each day's high and low -- was 51.8 degrees, breaking the previous early-April record of 51.7 degrees in the first two weeks of 1895, according to the National Weather Service's Grand Rapids office.
The "normal" average temperature for April 14 in Muskegon is 44 degrees.
And so far this month, Muskegon has received only a trace of rain, recorded on April 7. The last measurable rain was March 31, when Muskegon got a paltry 0.04 inch, and the last decent drenching was March 30, when we got a half-inch.
Meteorologist Mark Sekelsky said above-normal temperatures will continue through next week with highs at least in the 60s each day, possibly hitting 70 degrees Monday (the average high for April 15 is 54 degrees).
Other than a slight chance of scattered rain Sunday night, the first appreciable chance of showers or thunderstorms is expected to be Tuesday night, with 30 to 40 percent probability of rain each day from then into next weekend, Sekelsky said. "It looks like in most places next week we'll be seeing a shower or thunderstorm," he said. "We could certainly use the rainfall. It's been very dry."
That gets no argument from Muskegon County firefighters, who have been dealing with a rash of grass fires and expect to see more before the rains come.
"It's extremely dry," said Robert Grabinski, Muskegon Township's deputy fire chief. "Any kind of wind at all, and even a little campfire gets away from somebody and gets going really good. We advise people not to burn."
The state has imposed a ban on burning brush, and firefighters are asking people to refrain from recreational fires -- even in small backyard firepits. A gust of wind could start a grass fire, and Muskegon Township had exactly that happen last week, Grabinski said, leading to the loss of two neighbors' backyards, a snowblower and other equipment stored in garages.
"Until we get some significant rain that starts greening things up, it's best that they do no fires," Grabinski said. "I look to be pretty busy this weekend."
Some people have even started watering lawns and flowers, unusual for mid-April. But a local nurseryman says that's not necessary.
"They don't really need it," said Wally Weesies, owner of White Lake Nursery Inc. "It's plenty early. The grass is still in a semi-dormant state. It's OK to water, but it's not necessary," Weesies said.
The same goes for spring flowers, he said. "It's not an emergency to water them yet; it's OK to," Weesies said. More important, he said, is to clean up flower beds, cutting off old perennials and sprinkling a little fertilizer on in preparation for when the rains do come.
© 2005 Muskegon Chronicle. Used with permission

Muskegon bidding

MLive.com's Printer-Friendly Page: "City sets policy on local vs. out-of-town bids
Friday, April 15, 2005By Robert C. Burns
CHRONICLE STAFF WRITER
The city of Muskegon's somewhat vague standard on the selection of local vs. out-of-town bidders has been solidified into a formal policy.
The policy gives notice to potential bidders that the city commission may give the nod to local suppliers or contractors if the local bidder comes within 1 percent of the lowest nonlocal bid.
This assumes the bids in question are deemed 'responsible,' while 'local' is defined as a company with a business location within the city limits.
While not absolute, the new policy gives potential bidders advance warning that local preferences are a possibility, all other things being equal.
'Before people spend money putting a bid package together, there should be absolutely no question about the criteria we are using,' said Commissioner Larry Spataro, who has advocated setting a definite policy and sticking to it.
Another aspect of the new policy gives the commission more latitude in purchases or construction contracts expected to exceed $1 million. In such cases, 'the city commission will be consulted on whether local preference may apply, prior to soliciting bids.'
City commissioners have split over the question of whether to award contracts or purchases based solely on the low bid, or to give added preference to companies that pay city taxes, hire and buy materials locally.
The most recent flareup occurred when the commission voted 4-3 to accept the second-lowest bid of Jackson-Merkey Contractors of Muskegon for a street paving project, rather than the lowest bid, submitted by a Ludington firm.
For several years, commissioners have been loosely following an unwritten guideline calling for l"

Urban League

MLive.com's Printer-Friendly Page: "Imagine Muskegon without league's help
Friday, April 15, 2005By Clayton Hardiman
CHRONICLE STAFF WRITER
Every Christmas, we're treated to the nightmare scene in the sentimental classic film 'It's a Wonderful Life,' where George Bailey, desperate and suicidal, is escorted through the horrific mess the world would have become if he had never been born.
Today, we in Muskegon are forced to envision a similar scenario: Life without the Urban League.
In the film, George's idyllic hometown Bedford Falls has become a garish Babylon of vice and corruption. Every life George would have touched has been transformed for the worse.
The people he would have known are all suspicious, hostile and joyless. Some are insane or dead.
'You've been given a great gift, George,' his odd little guardian angel tells him, 'a chance to see what the world would be like without you.'
Some gifts, it seems, are almost more than we can handle.
Now we've been asked to imagine such a gift in real life. We have to envision Muskegon the last 55 years minus a proliferation of programs for employment assistance, education and health awareness.
We are asked to envision a Muskegon without youth employment training. We're asked to envision a Muskegon without sickle cell counseling, hypertension screening, home mortgage education and advocacy for the marginalized.
We are asked to envision a Muskegon without an Urban League.
All of this is a tremendous leap of the imagination -- not because losing those programs seems so unlikely but because it already seems so real.
Most of those programs have already disappeared, largely because of a financial crisis that has cost the non-profit community service agency most of its staff and now threatens its fu"

The American Spectator-liberalism

George is grumpy at the left. Read it all.

The American Spectator: Pie in the Sky Liberals
By George Neumayr

In the 1960s, radicals began their march through the institutions of American society. They marched through them, stayed long enough to find the exits, and now end up right back where they started: on the outside, in a state of powerless, clawing anger, hurling pies at 'establishment' figures and wishing death upon congressmen and presidents.

The left's feelings of impotent 1960s-style rage can be measured in Drudge Report headlines, such as: 'Website sells 'Kill Bush' T-Shirts,' and in Drudge's now weekly links to stories about pundits pied by liberals who clearly regard their victims as members of a new establishment. Like children who hurl their baby food as a form of protest, liberals in a state of infantile, frustrated rationality are reduced to tossing sugary and oily products at Bill Kristol and Pat Buchanan and stomping their feet at Ann Coulter.

The games AARP plays

Watch out for these lying socialists. Try http://usanext.com/ instead.

The games AARP plays - The Washington Times: Editorials/OP-ED - April 14, 2005: "The games AARP plays

By John Carlisle
In the ongoing debate over Social Security, AARP may claim that its mission is to defend the elderly, but its use of manipulative polls and inaccurate ads to needlessly frighten the public about the merits of reform raises serious questions about its tactics.
Moreover, while AARP says private stocks are too risky for individuals to invest their retirement savings, the multibillion organization has no problem making millions off those same 'risky' investments.
As evidence for the alleged unpopularity of private accounts backed by President Bush, AARP cites a poll it conducted in March that showed that 59 percent of the organization's 35 million members oppose the proposal. However, the poll is suspect because it was framed in such a way as to maximize a negative response. For example, 29 percent of AARP members initially said they liked the idea of diverting up to $1,300 into private accounts. These respondents were then asked a series of loaded questions, such as 'What if you heard that creating private accounts out of Social Security funds will put more of your retirement savings at risk?' This was followed up with language such as private accounts 'will create winners and losers' and 'could mean cuts in everyone's Social Security benefits.' Not surprisingly, most of the respondents who supported private accounts changed their minds. ...
AARP plays other games with polls to get the answers it wants. One poll reported that the general public is opposed to private accounts by a margin of 48 percent to 43 percent. However, the poll was skewed to maximize the representation of demographic groups that tend to oppose the plan. ....."

An American soldier

Thank God for these fine soldiers.
OpinionJournal - Extra: "BY GREG MOORE
Tuesday, April 12, 2005 12:01 a.m. EDT
SARANAC LAKE, N.Y.--There are no longer generators running, or armored vehicles rumbling, or mortars exploding, and the roar of the silence is deafening to me. What I hear at night now is the gentle breaths released from the perfect lips of my sons. The same lips that I cannot kiss enough. The lips that make my eyes fill with tears every time they touch my cheeks."

"Islamic teachings"

These are the people that the American Left support?
Power Line: "Hamas initially denied any link to the murder, but later admitted that the assailants belonged to one of its groups. It also admitted that the murderers were responsible for cracking down on men and women who defy Islamic teachings by appearing in public together."

The oops list

The oops list

We elected these people?

OpinionJournal - Best of the Web Today: "As Rep. Maxine Waters said at an abortion rally last April, 'I have to march because my mother could not have an abortion.'"

Cool place to murder someone?

Watch out if your spouse invites you to this place!
OpinionJournal - Best of the Web Today: "Our Own Private Idaho
Blogger Orin Kerr calls our attention to a law review article by Brian Kalt, who points out that U.S. law provides a way to get away with murder (or any other crime): Do it in the Idaho portion of Yellowstone National Park.
This is possible, according to Kalt, because of an oddity in the federal courts' jurisdiction: Yellowstone is under federal jurisdiction, which means state law does not apply. An 1894 law defines the federal District of Wyoming as including the whole park, including the portions in Idaho and Montana, which means that any crime committed within the park would be tried in federal district court in Wyoming.
But here's the rub: The Sixth Amendment stipulates that a jury in a federal trial must be 'of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed.' That means that if you commit a crime in the Idaho portion of Yellowstone, the jury must consist of people who live in both Idaho and the Wyoming District, which is to say, the Idaho portion of Yellowstone, whose population is zero. Thus if you insist on a jury trial, which is your constitutional right, the government will be unable to try you. (The Montana portion of the park has an adult population of 41, making it at least theoretically possible to assemble a jury for a crime committed there.)
Going on a killing spree in the Idaho portion of Yellowstone may be easier said than done, though. After all, the population is zero, so who would you kill? This rules out lots of other crimes, too. There are no houses to burgle, and we're pretty sure there are no liquor stores to rob.
If your ambition is to commit the perfect crime, then, best to set your sights lower. How about this: Load your pickup truck full of mattresses and drive to the Idaho corner of Yellowstone

MSU must beware of underdog - 3/20/05

Wrong again!
MSU must beware of underdog - 3/20/05: ", March 20, 2005
March Madness
MSU must beware of underdog
Spartans face tiny Vermont, a Cinderella team riding a gust of incredible emotion.
By Bob Wojnowski / The Detroit News"

Canada to Heart Patients: Sorry If You Die Before We Can Treat You

Coming to the USA soon?
Maybe this is the reason we don't hear the MSM lionizing the fabulous "Canadian single payer health care system"?
Canada to Heart Patients: Sorry If You Die Before We Can Treat You

Lance in Iraq

A view into the mind of the left.

Lance in Iraq: "''I think all war is wrong,'' said Mary McKinney of Nashville. McKinney had her three children with her, including her 2-year-old son in a sling on her chest.
What the article does not mention is that she spoke her words in English, not German or Russian. However, the language of naivete is grating in any dialect.
Liberals today are isolationists in an era when that's simply not feasible. We tried it and we got Pearl Harbor. We tried it again and we got 9/11. Worse, they think America incapable of moral action on the world stage yet believe US citizens should fund it through the corrupt, immoral UN. Once upon a time, the left claimed to be for human rights. No more. They have thrown down the banner and President Bush, to his great credit, picked it up.
UN Parody Update: Annan: Suicide Bombers Deserve Prison
Posted by Lance Frizzell at March 20, 2005 06:28 AM "

PEW

Funny how the MSM kinda forgot to "front page" this.

THE STENCH FROM PEW
Reports in The Post last week con cerning the political activities of the supposedly above-the-fray Pew Charitable Trusts were, in a word, shocking.
A former program officer for Pew, Sean Treglia, was caught on videotape bragging about how the foundation worked behind the scenes to create the false impression that there was a 'mass movement' afoot clamoring for campaign-finance reform.
The intent: to hoodwink Congress.
It worked.
Pew did this in the run-up to the passage of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 � a.k.a. McCain-Feingold � by spreading around more than $40 million to grass-roots front groups like Common Cause, the Campaign Finance Institute and the inaptly named Center for Public Integrity.
Pew wasn't alone in its efforts.
Several other major liberal foundations � including the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Ford Foundation and George Soros' Open Society Institute � colluded with Pew to give $123 million between 1994 and 2004 to promote the regulation of political speech.
But Pew's role in the effort seems to have been particularly insidious.
'Having been on the Hill, I knew that . . . if Congress thought this was a Pew effort, it'd be worthless. It'd be 20 million bucks thrown down the drain,' Treglia says at one point in the tape.
'So, in order, in essence, to convey the impression that this was something coming naturally from outside the Beltway, I felt it was best that Pew stay in the background.'
'By law, the grantees always have to disclose. But I always encouraged the grantees never to mention Pew,' Treglia says. 'Did we push the envelope? Yeah. Were we encouraged internally to push the envelope? Yeah . . . We stayed within the letter, if not the spirit, of the law.'
We'd be loathe to ac"

Don, cought in the act!

don

Posted by Hello

ubiquitious

Not unlike the idiotically overused "gravitas", when the MSM learns a new word, they use it to death.

Bright idea, dumb reaction -Harvard idiocy

A major reason for the failure of black communities to experience the success of comparable "white/brown" communities is that too many of their leaders think this way.

Bright idea, dumb reaction - Comment - Times Online: " I WILL NEVER forget the moment when one of my Harvard classmates raised her hand and objected to the use of the term "black market", which she found unacceptably demeaning to her race. It was a Philip Roth moment, a militant provocation and the economics professor ducked. He was black too, and despised political correctness. But after a pause he said: "We will use the term "shadow market". And we used it, for the whole bloody semester. For in that bastion of censorship that was Harvard in the early 90s, no one dared to challenge anything labelled, however absurdly, as "discrimination".

What's Left? Shame. Today's "Must Read"

What's Left? Shame. (washingtonpost.com): "Those who claimed, with great certainty, that Arabs are an exception to the human tendency toward freedom, that they live in a stunted and distorted culture that makes them love their chains -- and that the notion the United States could help trigger a democratic revolution by militarily deposing their oppressors was a fantasy -- have been proved wrong. "

Too funny!

Just another of the wonders of the "net". Enjoy.
from MLIVE.com

5896. Funny... Children's Science Test. by EllenJ, 3/18/05 9:30 ET
Email received which will hopefully add a smile to your day:
These are real answers given by children.
Q: Name the four seasons.A: Salt, pepper, mustard and vinegar.
Q: Explain one of the processes by which water can be made safe to drink.A: Flirtation makes water safe to drink because it removes largepollutants like grit, sand, dead sheep and canoeists.
Q: How is dew formed?A: The sun shines down on the leaves and makes them perspire.
Q: How can you delay milk turning sour?A: Keep it in the cow.
Q: What causes the tides in the oceans?A: The tides are a fight between the Earth and the Moon. All water tendsto flow towards the moon, because there is no water on the moon, andnature hates a vacuum. I forget where the sun joins in this fight.
Q: What are steroids?A: Things for keeping carpets still on the stairs.
Q: What happens to your body as you age?A: When you get old, so do your bowels and you get intercontinental.
Q: What happens to a boy when he reaches puberty?A: He says good-bye to his boyhood and looks forward to his adultery
Q: Name a major disease associated with cigarettes.A: Premature death.
Q: What is artificial insemination?A: When the farmer does it to the bull instead of the cow.
Q: How are the main parts of the body categorized? (e.g., abdomen.)
A: The body is consisted into three parts---the brainium, the borax and the abdominal cavity.The brainium contains the brain; the borax contains the heart and lungs, and the abdominalcavity contains the five bowels, A, E, I, O, and U.
Q: What is the fibula?A: A small lie.
Q: What does "varicose" mean?A: Nearby.
Q: Give the meaning of the term "Caesarean Section"A: The Caesarean Section is a district in Rome.
Q: What does the word "benign" mean?'A: Benign is what you will be after you be eight.

Click to view these responses
Untitled by taxqueen, 3/18/05


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AARP=Democrat Party

If there was ever a better proof that AARP is an arm of the democrat party, I'd like to see it. Here the AARPsters recycle the lie that "private accounts in Social Security will not solve the system's solvency problem." That is right out of the democrat handbook. No one, not Bush, not anyone in the administration or anyone who supports SS reform has ever stated that private accounts would "solve" the system's problems. They have said and continue to say that privatizing part of the system is only one step toward solvency.
Also note that the left/AARP aren't interested in a SS "lock-box" any more. The private accounts are the "lock-box", a place where the thieving government can't take your money away. The Gore/AARP lock gives your money to the govt. for "safe keeping". Some lock box. Jeeze.


In a message dated 3/18/2005 12:25:30 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, miaarp@aarp.org writes:
Legislative Update
Please call the local office of your member of Congress during the period from March 19-31. Tell them respectfully that proposals to create private accounts in Social Security will not solve the system's solvency problem. Indeed, these accounts would hurt the system because the money carved out will have to be replaced with more taxpayer dollars to pay benefits. The "solution" should not be worse than the problem.
Below you will find your local Congressional Representative's offices. Please find your member's number and place a call. Thanks!
Bill Knox
Associate State Director for Government Affairs
AARP Michigan

billions at risk

Threads2

This is scary!

I always wondered about the AA Airbus 310 crash right after 9-11. The A310 uses "fly by wire" controls, meaning that the pilots input is interpreted by computers to control the airplane. The "experts" concluded that pilot error caused the crash. But if the pilots moved the flight controls too violently, why did the programming of the computer allow those pilot inputs to destroy the airplane? Lot's of political input into this one. I'm not a conspiracy buff, but this is beginning to look like a major cover up. Keep an eye out for more on this story.


Instapundit.com -: "March 14, 2005
HMM. I'D MISSED THIS STORY:
At 35 000 feet above the Caribbean, Air Transat flight 961 was heading home to Quebec with 270 passengers and crew. At 3.45pm last Sunday, the pilot noticed something very unusual. His Airbus A310's rudder -- a structure over 8m high -- had fallen off and tumbled into the sea. In the world of aviation, the shock waves have yet to subside. . . .
One former Airbus pilot, who now flies Boeings for a major United States airline, told The Observer: 'This just isn't supposed to happen. No one I know has ever seen an airliner's rudder disintegrate like that. It raises worrying questions about the materials and build of the aircraft, and about its maintenance and inspection regime. We have to ask as things stand, would evidence of this type of deterioration ever be noticed before an incident like this in the air?'
He and his colleagues also believe that what happened may shed new light on a previous disaster. In November 2001, 265 people died when American Airlines flight 587, an Airbus A300 model which is almost identical to the A310, crashed shortly after take-off from JFK airport in New York. According to the official report into the crash, the immediate cause was the loss of the plane's rudder and tailfin, though this was blamed on an error by the pilots."

Charter school seniors may leave campus at lunch

Can someone tell me why students are allowed off campus at all during the day? According to the article, this policy passed without parental support. Why did the Board support it? The negatives of this policy are obvious: drug, alcohol, smoking abuse. Kids coming back to class late, or the temptation to not return at all. Dangerous driving in a very busy area. Why allow it? Or is this just another case of journalistic sophistry?

Charter school seniors may leave campus at lunch:
Monday, March 14, 2005
By Teresa Taylor Williams
CHRONICLE STAFF WRITER
Similar to their peers in nearby traditional schools, seniors at Muskegon Technical Academy are now free to leave the charter school during lunch period.
But their new freedom is for only one day per week, and they must adhere to stipulations given by school officials.
Earlier this month, the school board reluctantly approved open campus lunch for 12th-graders who are passing all classes and have parent permission and no suspensions this school year.
The idea of allowing the high-schoolers at the sixth- through 12th-grade school to leave during lunch period was discussed last fall, and board members along with Superintendent Barbara Stellard were not in favor of it because of lack of parental support. "

Kyoto costs ballooning, Canada cabinet ministers warned

No surprise. The old bait and switch has been played on voters of all countries so often it's not even news anymore. Any bets that you won't see this story anywhere else except the blogosphere? Kyoto is bad enough. Now the Canadian economy is going to get creamed because they've grown faster than some bureaucrat predicted.

The Globe and Mail: Kyoto costs ballooning, cabinet ministers warned: "OTTAWA -- The full cost to Ottawa of meeting Canada's targets for fighting global warming under the controversial Kyoto accord could exceed $10-billion, senior federal cabinet ministers have been warned.
That's twice what the federal government has budgeted so far for Kyoto."

Read the whole article.

Squirrel blogging! Muskegon Protection racket!

Don Squirreleone


Well, I've finally given into a force that refuses to be denied. Over the years, all types of squirrels have been invading and even eating my birdfeeders. I thought I had tried everything, squirrel-proof feeders, vaseline on the feeder poles and I even bought a BB gun to try to dissuade my varmit neighbors from overindulging at my free food-bank.
Nothing worked until I met Don Squirreleone. Don, a local red squirrel gave me an offer I couldn't refuse. I noticed that Don was the loudest and most obnoxious of my rodential invaders. He spent an inordinate time perched on my deck, staring directly at me, chirping squirrel challenges to my manhood and then climbing on and munching all over my feeders. I tried my usual defenses, even unloading all 13 BB shots into the woods as Don raced out of range and returned to taunt me as I spilled hundreds of BBs on my carpet. Quite often he even returned and mooned me.
But then I noticed something. The much larger grey, black and fox squirrels had disappeared from my feeders and the birds were returning! Whenever another would climb onto the deckrail, Don would chirp like a banshee-that-chirped and chase the intruder away.
It then all became clear. This was not just some run-of-the-mill rodent with panda bear affectations. This little red squirrel was "the Man". He owned the neighborhood. He ran the Show. Don, and Don alone, kept his bird feeders safe for birds.... and Don.
And I realized that I was powerless to challenge his primacy over the deck that I built with my own hands.
I'm now comfortable with my new status. I ladle out a halfcup of premium seed every few days or so for Don. The other squirrels are gone. My feeders are loaded with finches, cardinals, nuthatches etc. and life seems pretty good.
Dang, I gotta run. More seed needed on the deck. Don is mooning me again.

Don Corleone



Don Squirreleone staredown

Ferocious!

Posted by Hello

Carnival of the Recipes #30

I always get this link from Instapundit.com. Both are worth the visit. What's not to like about "Redneck Gourmet"? Pass it on.

pamibe � Carnival of the Recipes #30: "The Redneck Gourmet gives us Cheese Stuffed Shells With Tomato Meat Sauce. I for one appreciate the in-depth instructions, Virgil!"

Bird help!

This bird landed on my feeder today. It sat with a male house finch so I think it is a female but it is mostly white. Has anyone seen a similar bird? Does anyone know what this bird really is?


Albino House Finch?

update: With a little help from Muskegon County Nature Club Homepage, a member sent me this.
"We're 99% sure the bird is a house finch, and we'd call it "leucistic" rather than "albino" since the bird does have some color (but we're no experts)."
Thanks!

The New York Times--Under Bush, a New Age of Prepackaged Television News

This long, tedious NYT article is really trying to convince the reader that the Bush administration's efforts are the begining of "a New Age" and you need to be warned about the Rove-a-nation of your home TV. You know, spin, but with beady eyes. Buried way down is this little gem. It sure kinda wrecks the whole story if they put it up front, doesn't it?

The New York Times > Washington > Under Bush, a New Age of Prepackaged Television News: "The practice, which also occurred in the Clinton administration...."

Colorado high!

Posted by Hello

Next time you hear the NYT prognosticate....

... remember this gem. And they wonder why we don't believe them any more.

JustOneMinute: Nobody Likes An "I Told You So": "The coming elections - long touted as the beginning of a new, democratic Iraq - are looking more and more like the beginning of that worst-case scenario.
It's time to talk about postponing the elections."

The New York Times Editorial 1/12/2005

Are we chasing quality contractors away?

Credit to the Chronicle for at least reporting this but isn't it about time that they engage in a tiny bit of investigative journalism to find out the real reason we, the taxpayers, are paying more for this project than has been bid? And, given that the "word" is out on bidding Muskegon jobs, are fewer contractors going to bid in the future? Isn't this just the same as those practices that have destroyed such cities as Detroit?

Commissioners clash over construction bids: "Low bidder Brian Schultz warned the commission that if it made a practice of rejecting the lowest bid in favor of contractors in the Muskegon area, it would find that fewer contractors would go to the trouble and expense of preparing bids, competition would suffer and costs would go up.
'It really degrades the bidding process,' Schultz said. "

Harvard Medical-Bankruptcy Study

Interesting how the lie about medical debt as the major cause of bankruptcy is now being repeated by the MSM as if it were Gospel. And they wonder why they're losing viewers/readers?

Gail Heriot on Harvard Medical-Bankruptcy Study on National Review Online: "Some bankruptcies are caused by crushing medical debt. But they aren't half of all bankruptcies, and the only way to create the impression they are is to jimmy the figures. For example, the study classifies 'uncontrolled gambling,' 'drug addiction,' 'alcohol addiction,' and the birth or adoption of a child as 'a medical cause,' regardless of whether medical bills are involved"

A little more about that Italian reporter gal...

... who was "kidnapped" in IRAQ. She's a reporter for an Italian, Communist, anti-American newspaper. Oh, and the Italian government just paid $1,000,000 to the terrorists to "free" her. Money that will be spent on killing Americans.

Zacht Ei - About Giuliana Sgrena: "About Giuliana Sgrena
Mr. Harald Doornbos is a veteran war reporter. He is no archetypical hawk nor a staunch supporter of the United States. In fact, he used to be a reporter for the communist newspaper 'De Waarheid' (The Truth, or Pravda, if you like) before it went bust. (This doesn't necessarily mean he was ever a communist, by the way. De Waarheid used to be a huge employer.)
However, this doesn't make him overly sympathetic towards Giuliana Sgrena, the Italian journalist who was held hostage by Iraqi insurgents. Some snippets from this article which was published today in a Dutch Christian broadsheet.
'Be careful not to get kidnapped,' I told the female Italian journalist sitting next to me in the small plane that was headed for Baghdad. 'Oh no,' she said. 'That won't happen. We are siding with the oppressed Iraqi people. No Iraqi would kidnap us.'
It doesn't sound very nice to be critical of a fellow reporter. But Sgrena's attitude is a disgrace for journalism. Or didn't she tell me back in the plane that 'common journalists such as yourself' simply do not support the Iraqi people? 'The Americans are the biggest enemies of mankind,' the three women behind me had told me, for Sgrena travelled to Iraq with two Italian colleagues who hated the Americans as well.
(Doornbos goes on to explain how the women demeaned him for travelling as an embedded reporter with the US military, for security reasons. They didn't want to hear about any safety concerns.)
'You don't understand the situation. We are anti-imperialists, anti-capitalists, communists,' they said. The Iraqis only kidnap American sympathizers, the enemies of the Americans have nothing to fear.
(Doornbos tells them they're out of their mind.)
But they knew better. When we arrived at Baghd"

Summer is comming! Last year at the Lawnmower races in Sparta. 

Quiznos Subs

Don't their ads using that sorta cute kid with the rapist voice give you the willies?

Report: Welfare payments so low 'kids do without'

Sorry to be a big bad dude, but welfare payments are supposed to be a temporary support. Someone who can't get a job within six months isn't looking. It is supposed to be very uncomfortable to be on welfare. That's why so many Michiganders moved from welfare to JOBS after Engler tightened the rules. Everyone, especially the children, benefited.

Report: Welfare payments so low 'kids do without':
"Report: Welfare payments so low 'kids do without'
Tuesday, March 08, 2005
By Lynn Moore
In six short months, Kristine Ryder has gone from earning her own living to teetering on the brink of losing her home to foreclosure.
For the six months since she lost her job, Ryder, of Laketon Township, has relied on welfare cash assistance. She gets $414 per month, $64 of which is taken out for heating and electric payments, leaving her $350 to pay for her house, car, utilities and all those other expenses of life that add up quickly"

Good, fast work dealing with syphilis outbreak

Imagine the outcry if the Chronicle editorialistas printed this same editorial but talking about "AIDs" instead of "syphilis".
Good, fast work dealing with syphilis outbreak: "Kraus used a simple strategy in combating the sudden rise in cases. He alerted seven health-care agencies around the county to be on the lookout for signs of syphilis in incoming patients, and also provided them with special testing equipment and antibiotics with which to begin immediate treatment."

Summer is comming! 

Residents object to plan for housing development

I have no clue if this is a good idea or not but what a lame headline and article. "Some residents" always object to every new idea or hope for progress in Muskegon. That's news? How 'bout some real analysis of the specific situation? Four/5/6 years of college grants a journalism degree for this fluff?

Residents object to plan for housing development: "Residents object to plan for housing development "

This is the same tactic that Democrat Senator....

....Bird has used 3 times in the recent past. I always worry when those "smarter" than me tell me half the true story. A lot like the communists in their propaganda.

Dear MoveOn member,Tomorrow, March 10th, the Senate Judiciary Committee will consider the nomination of mining and cattle industry lobbyist William Myers III for a lifetime appointment to the U.S. Court of Appeals—the second highest court in the land. Myers is the first of 20 judicial nominees Bush has re-submitted in his second term. All 20 repeat nominees were rejected last term by Senate Democrats (as compared to the 204 judges they accepted) because these nominees consistently sided with corporate special-interests over the rights of ordinary Americans.This time, Bush is ready to fight dirty to force these nominees through. Dick Cheney has even threatened to use a parliamentary trick to eliminate the centuries-old rule requiring judges to have broad support in the Senate. This would effectively silence all 44 Democratic senators and the 173 million Americans they represent—the majority of the country.
With the first crucial vote on the first judge in less than a day, we're launching a national campaign to let our senators know that we out here in America are counting on them to hold the line on all 20 of Bush's rejected, corporate judges, and beat back his dirty parliamentary tricks.
The first phase is this national petition that we will hand deliver to your senators before the confirmation votes for the 20 judges. And tomorrow, MoveOn members will host over 1000 house meetings to create local plans to save the judiciary. The courts we have for the next 30 years may depend on your efforts in the next few weeks.
Please sign today:http://www.moveonpac.org/judges/
To ram his nominees through, Bush is hoping to use a parliamentary trick the Republicans refer to as the "nuclear option." For 200 years, if enough senators strongly objected to a federal judge, they could use a filibuster to force more debate until all their concerns were addressed. That's how Democrats blocked the worst of these 20 nominees last term. Actually changing the rule would require a 2/3 vote of the Senate—and Bush doesn't have near that level of support.
So instead, Vice President Cheney has threatened to abuse his authority as President of the Senate, and just declare that the right to filibuster judges is null and void. If Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist can twist enough arms to get 50 senators to support the ruling, the filibuster is history. For the first time ever, one party would have complete control over judicial nominations, all the way up to the Supreme Court.
Both parties in the Senate were given the power to approve or reject judicial nominations because—above all else—judges must be trusted by Americans on all sides to rule fairly. So why does Bush refuse to send a few replacement nominees both parties can agree on? Why is he so intent on smashing Democratic resistance to these and all future nominees? Because while his presidency will be over in 4 years, the judges he appoints will be on the bench for the rest of their lives. This is Bush's big push to lock in his hard-right, corporate-friendly ideology for decades to come—and that is exactly why we must not back down now.
The whole plot is set into motion tomorrow, with the committee vote on William Myers. We must draw the line here, by stopping Bush's 20 repeat nominees and standing up to the "nuclear option."
Please sign the petition today:http://www.moveonpac.org/judges/
Thanks for all that you do,
--Ben Brandzel, Eli Pariser and the whole MoveOn PAC Team Wednesday, March 9th, 2005
P.S. Here's a brief summary of just the first three of the 20 partisan judges re-nominated by President Bush.
William Myers III has never been a judge and spent most of his career as a lobbyist for the cattle and mining industry. [1] He has written that all habitat conservation laws are unconstitutional because they interfere with potential profit. [2] In 2001, Bush appointed him as the chief lawyer for the Department of the Interior. In that role he continued as a champion of corporate interests, setting his agenda in meetings with former employers he promised not to speak with, and even illegally giving away sacred Native American land to be strip mined. [3]Terrence Boyle was a legal aide to Jesse Helms. As a judge, his signature decisions have attempted to circumvent federal laws barring employment discrimination by race, gender, and disability. [4] His rulings have been overturned a staggering 120 times by the conservative 4th District Court of Appeals, either due to gross errors in judgment or simple incompetence. [5] William Pryor Jr. served as Attorney General of Alabama, where he took money from Phillip Morris, fought against the anti-tobacco lawsuit until it was almost over, and cost the people of Alabama billions in settlement money for their healthcare system as a result. [6] He called Roe v. Wade "the worst abomination of constitutional law in our history," and has consistently argued against the federal protections for the civil rights of minorities, lesbian and gay couples, women, and the disabled. [7]
Notes: [1] "Unfit to Judge," Community Rights Council, 4/2/04.[2] "Myers Troubling Legal Philosophy," People for the American Way.[3] "Environmental Group Calls on Senate to Block Myers Nomination: Ethical Problems and Anti-Environmental Activism Make Him Unfit for Judgeship," Friends of the Earth, 2/5/05.[4] "Federal Judge Terrence Boyle Unfit for Promotion to Appeals Court," People for the American Way, 2/23/05.[5] "Eastern District of North Carolina Terrence Boyle Nominated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit," Alliance for Justice.[6] Eric Fleischauer, "Pryor Called a Tobacco Sellout," Decatur Daily News, 10/30/02.[7] Ann Woolner, "Bush Judicial Candidate Shows How Things Change," Bloomberg News, 5/16/03.
PAID FOR BY MOVEON PACNot authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

Farmers Market move debated

This is a novel argument. No surprise that it is supported by zero facts or specific ways that moving the site would keep vendors fees lower. No wonder the MSM is viewed with such skepticism and contempt. Jeeze....

Market move debated: "Some, like Vice Mayor Bill Larson, liked the idea of moving the market to a city-owned site as a way of keeping fees to vendors low. "

Eat Your History

Go to the site, check out the recipe and send the history to someone, younger, who you want to become a better American in the future.

Eat Your History: "Thursday, March 03, 2005Star Spangled Banner & Crab Cakes
'Then, in that hour of deliverance, my heart spoke. Does not such a country, and such defenders of their country, deserve a song?' Those words were spoken by Francis Scott Key, overcome with emotion, after witnessing American troops defeat the British in the Battle for Baltimore during the War of 1812. The 'Star Spangled Banner' was the result.

Today, in 1931, President Herbert Hoover signed congressional legislation making 'The Star Spangled Banner' our national anthem. What took them so long? Francis Scott Key wrote it in 1814!

Here's the quick history: Major George Armistead knew that, eventually, the British would attack Baltimore. He commissioned the widow Mary Young Pickerell to sew a United States flag to the measurements of 30 x 42. Why? He wanted his position known, not only to the friendlies, but to the enemy. Mrs. Pickerell, with the aid of her 13 year old daughter, Caroline, sewed the flag and Major Armistead ran it up a 90' flag pole.

Anyway, the British landed 3,000 land troops just north of Ft. McHenry, Maryland, on September 12, 1814. They were the 'advance team' for the British ships that would commence bombardment of the Fort the next morning. One problem. 10,000 Americans blocked the advancement of the British troops. (Do you love free people, or what?) The bombardment from British ships on Ft. McHenry started the next day, at dawn, and continued for 25 hours. Ft. McHenry had a mere 1,000 soldiers, but they valiantly returned fire on the superpower of the day.

When Francis Scott Key went to sleep the night of September 13, the sights and sounds of the battle had begun to wane. Awakening at dawn the next day, he didn't know if the Americans had been defeated or had been victorious.
"

Bird nerd!

I'm a bird nerd, lower level. Nerdy about birds but not too knowledgeable about the feathered dudes and dudettes. This excellent link came from kimkomando.com. Go there and expand your feathered web-life.

Birding Focus

The White House Greetings Office

The BEST cheap gift to someone you love who loves freedom, family and the American Way. Or a great pimp to the Bush-haters who still bay at the moon and gnash their teeth at the mention of elections in IRAQ. I sent one to my Dad for his 80th this May. I'll update when it happens.
Don't forget! This is a real easy site but they want a 6 week lead. Another cool site of the day from kimkomando.com

The White House Greetings Office: "ANNIVERSARY GREETINGS. Anniversary greetings are extended only to those couples who are celebrating their 50th (and subsequent) wedding anniversary.
BIRTHDAY GREETINGS. Birthday greetings will be sent only to individuals 80 years of age and above.
OTHER GREETINGS. A limited number of special occasions other than birthdays and anniversaries exist for which the Greetings Office will send appropriate recognition to United States citizens. These occasions include important events such as:

Wedding (send your request after the event)
Baby's Birth (must be born during the George W. Bush Administration; send request only after baby's birth)
Eagle Scout Award
Girl Scout Gold Award
Bar/Bat Mitzvah or equivalent occasion "

Oakridge delegation helps re-enact famed civil rights events

This is an excellent experience and a great story for the Chronicle to publish. When will Oakridge or the Chronicle support a visit to the former communist countries and report the genocide and economic failure that communism/socialism breeds? Maybe a trip to Benton Harbor would reveal some of the same failed policies?

Oakridge delegation helps re-enact famed civil rights events:
"Oakridge delegation helps re-enact famed civil rights events
Monday, March 07, 2005
By Randy Rogoski
CHRONICLE STAFF WRITER
It's one thing to read about the civil rights movement's 'Bloody Sunday' in books.
It's quite another to visit the places where history happened and talk to the people who made it. "

Nice story about Michigan State Women's Hoops!

The MSU gals not only won the regular season, they won the tournament and this coach has done wonders on a campus that reveres the men's coach, Izzo. Kudos to Coach McCallie and her team.
It wasn't too long ago that the MSU women's coach left E Lansing for UM. That gave Joanne her chance. Pretty cool.

The State News - www.statenews.com: "McCallie named Coach of the Year
Haynie, Bowen and Shimek also garner honors
By CHRIS BARSOTTI

MSU head coach Joanne P. McCallie shared the honor of Big Ten Coach of the Year after she led her team to a record of 25-3, an MSU record for wins."

BBC NEWS | Africa | Niger cancels 'free-slave' event

If there was ever a better proof that the US main stream media (MSM) and the UN are corrupt and worthless, it is that you read this on a blog and not on Dan Rather or the Chronicle front page.

BBC NEWS Africa Niger cancels 'free-slave' event: "Niger cancels 'free-slave' event

The government of Niger has cancelled at the last minute a special ceremony during which at least 7,000 slaves were to be granted their freedom.
A spokesman for the government's human rights commission, which had helped to organise the event, said this was because slavery did not exist. "

Don't forget, he was the only GOPer convicted in the .....

..... billion dollar Keating/Saving & Loan scandal in the 80s. He took dirty money in the past. He's back to his old tricks.

boortz.com: Nealz Nuze Today's Nuze: "JOHN MCCAIN UNDER FIRE

If you listen closely, you just might hear the sound of John McCain's 2008 presidential hopes slipping into the ether. Maybe not entirely...after all, many other Senators have done worse, including The Poodle. At any rate, this bit of scandal seems to involve an area where the saintly John McCain was thought to be untouchable: dirty campaign contributions. Here's the deal:

Cablevision is a large cable company that wants the federal government to require cable operators to offer channels on an a la carte basis. For those of you educated in government schools, that means being able to buy individual channels, as opposed to an entire package. So, for instance, if you have no interest in sports or cooking or whatever, you wouldn't have to buy those channels. Most cable operators are opposed to the idea, except Cablevision. Enter John McCain.

Cablevision made a $200,000 donation to a tax-exempt group that McCain co-founded. A bit odd, isn't it, that at that very same time McCain was pushing Cablevision's cause with federal regulators. McCain says he was in favor of a la carte channel pricing before Cablevision donated the money, and he says he wasn't directly involved in the group that took the money. Draw your own conclusions.
Is it influence peddling? Maybe. Time will tell. There will no doubt be an investigation. By the way...that's not a bad idea...being able to buy individual channels. After all, why should you be forced to pay for Animal Planet if you don't watch it? And while we're at it .. they ought to pay US to watch all of those government access channels."

Yes Virginia....

... there is a Santa Claus. Here is a great example between the GOPers and the Donkeys. If you want the UN to continue its past "success" vote demo. Georgie wants change.

boortz.com: Nealz Nuze Today's Nuze: "So what makes Bolton such a hard-liner?

He led the charge against the International Criminal Court, referring to the day he withdrew the U.S. signature on the treaty as 'the happiest moment of my government service.' So far, so good. Next, he is being criticized for traveling to South Korea and calling the communist gargoyle of the north, Kim Jong-Il a 'tyrannical dictator' who made North Korea a 'hellish nightmare.' That sounds about right to me! I wonder why it upsets the Euro-wimps so much.

Then there's this quote, another zinger about the UN: 'If the U.N. Secretariat Building in New York lost 10 stories, it wouldn't make a bit of difference.' Truer words have never been spoken. Sounds like just the man the United States needs representing us at the United Nations."

Go to this site with a kleenex.

What wonderful men and women!

NPR blogging

Here in Muskegon MI (flyover country) I'm watching the PBS presentation of "Broadway's Lost Treasures". It IS excellent. Wonderful TV. Too bad PBS pays no taxes and gets its bandwidth (or whatever they call free access to our television) for free. It still seems to me that if there can be tax-paying, job creating, good old capitalist TV stations that show "Girls gone wild", "Howard Stern", "The Golf Channel" etc. ad nausium, there can be enough support for PBSish programming without my forced tax dollar. But, golly , Patti Lupone is amazing!!!!!

This is what socialism and strong unions get a country.

Somehow, the Chronicle missed this. I hope our governor didn't.

BBC NEWS Business German jobless rate at new record: "The figure of 5.216 million people, or 12.6% of the working-age population, is the highest jobless rate in Europe's biggest economy since the 1930s"

Wall Street Journal advice on party conversation!

Slow news day for Muskegon. How 'bout some verbal intercourse advice?

DigitalRoom.net has an essay called "How to Win an Argument," and its first bit of advice is "Drink liquor":
Suppose you're at a party and some hotshot intellectual is expounding on the economy of Peru, a subject you know nothing about. If you're drinking some health-fanatic drink like grapefruit juice, you'll hang back, afraid to display your ignorance, while the hotshot entralls [sic] your date. But if you drink several large shots of Jack Daniels, you'll discover you have STRONG VIEWS about the Peruvian economy. You'll be a WEALTH of information. You'll argue forcefully, offering searing insights and possibly upsetting furniture. People will be impressed. Some may leave the room.
The essay concludes with "Compare your opponent to Adolf Hitler":
This is your heavy artillery, for when your opponent is obviously right and you are spectacularly wrong. Bring Hitler up subtly. Say: "That sounds suspiciously like something Adolf Hitler might say" or "You certainly do remind me of Adolf Hitler."
OpinionJournal - Best of the Web Today: "

Iraq/Iwo Perspective

Vodkapundit reminds us of some specifics about our history and how it repeats itself. Well done!

Vodkapundit - Perspective: "Iwo gave us the uplifting vision of the Marines hoisting the flag on enemy soil. Iraq gave us the uplifting vision of eight million first-time voters planting the flag of freedom on their own soil."

Inducements offered for downtown home-buyers

If "homes in downtown (Muskegon) are a great investment right now" why do we need to spend tax dollars to induce folks to buy them? The problem for Michigan in general and Muskegon in particular is our high tax rates and wasted tax dollars on programs like this. People and businesses will stop leaving Muskegon when Muskegon provides an incentive to stay that does not involve "freebees" that aren't free. Like good schools, low crime rates, low taxes, low cost of doing business and a business friendly local government.

Inducements offered for downtown home-buyers:

"Homes in downtown Muskegon are a great investment right now,' program manager Jessica Elsey said. 'The neighborhood is full of beautiful historic and modern homes that are undervalued in the current real estate market.'"

State needs to tell dummies sensible stuff!

Pardon my paranoia, but this editorial from our beloved Chronicle scares the goobers out of me. I've always known that the editorialists were socialist leaners, but "positioning unified government to make the most sensible planning decisions for the greater good of the community" simply means taking away the rights of the citizens of those communities and giving the power to an unelected bureaucratic morass. And this is after those communities have rejected that "sensible" usurpation of their own rights. I guess us locals aren't nuanced or sensible enough to make our own decisions. Jeeze.

State has to take the lead role on consolidation:

"Greater Muskegon community, and to a lesser extent North Ottawa, have in the past tried to move toward consolidation. Why? Because it is perhaps the ultimate step to eliminating bureaucratic overlap, deleting repetitive jobs, enjoying serious cost-savings in purchasing and other combined functions, and positioning
unified government to make the most sensible planning decisions for the greater
good of the community"