Showing posts with label Michigan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Michigan. Show all posts
Monday, March 31, 2014
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Monday, January 27, 2014
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Saturday, September 21, 2013
Responsible Gun Ownership #6: Road Rage + Fire Arms
Two men in the small town of Ionia, Michigan, identified as James Pullam, 43, and Robert Taylor, 56 on the town’s police department’s Facebook page, are now dead as a result of out of control road rage mixed with guns. Apparently, the two men got out of their vehicles and began to argue just before 7 PM Wednesday evening. Eventually, they both took out their guns. The rest, as they say, is history, and both men were pronounced dead at Sparrow Ionia Hospital on Thursday.
Witnesses at the scene are mortified. They report hearing seven or eight gunshots. Here is what one witness, Allen Daggett, had to say:
I think it’s crazy that a small town has to have two people die,. I feel sorry for the people that died. I feel sorry for the families and everyone’s [who is] acquainted with them.Daggett reached the scene around the time just before first responders showed up. He also told 24 Hour News 8 that a local person tried to help before officials arrived. Perhaps the most shameful part of all is that the good Samaritan had to kick the men’s guns out of the way to be able to perform CPR.
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Monday, July 22, 2013
Monday, June 17, 2013
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Michigan Equality Advocates Set Sights on 2016
From the Detroit Free-Press: ...Gay rights activists plan a 2016 ballot drive to overturn the 2004 constitutional ban approved by voters. Democratic senators last week introduced legislation to put the gay marriage question to voters in 2014, but odds of it passing a Republican-controlled Legislature are slim.
"We want to go to the ballot, win and make it a sustainable win that is an indication of a climate change in Michigan," said Emily Dievendorf, managing director of Equality Michigan, a statewide gay rights organization.
She estimated needing to raise $12 million for a ballot initiative in 2016, a presidential election year when the cause could be helped by higher Democratic voter turnout, particularly among young voters. The time until then will be used to raise funds for the signature gathering, push passage of bills prohibiting discrimination against gays and lesbians — supported by nearly seven in 10 voters — and educate the public...
Friday, June 7, 2013
Another GOP Governor For Medicaid Expansion
From the Detroit News:Gov. Rick Snyder is redoubling his efforts to get lawmakers this month to approve expanding the Medicaid health insurance program for the poor before the Legislature recesses for the summer.
Snyder said Friday he has invited U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to meet with Republican lawmakers to consider a House GOP proposal to put a four-year lifetime cap for able-bodied adults to be on Medicaid.
As state policymakers and business leaders departed Mackinac Island on Friday after the Detroit Regional Chamber's annual three-day policy conference, Snyder said Medicaid expansion is a more pressing issue for the Legislature to address before its scheduled June 27 summer adjournment than raising new revenues for roads.
"I would say it has more urgency," Snyder told reporters after wrapping up a policy conference that focused on education, immigration and Detroit's future.
Monday, June 3, 2013
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Three States Making Big Marriage Equality Strides
From the Advocate: A recent poll of Michigan voters found that 56.8% of Michiganders support marriage equality, according to The Detroit News. That's a sharp reversal from last year, when just over 44% of Michiganders supported marriage equality. It's an even more stark departure from 2004, when Michigan voters approved a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage...
...A recent Washington Post poll found that 56% of Virginians support the freedom to marry — a 10% increase from support in 2011. In 2006, Virginians approved a constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman by a margin of roughly 57%, according to the Post. Interestingly, while a majority of Democratic voters in Virginia have supported the freedom to marry since 2006, 40% of Republicans polled also supported marriage equality...
...Although Arizona voters overwhelmingly passed a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage in 2008, 55% of voters now favor marriage equality, according to a Rocky Mountain Poll released Wednesday and published at TalkingPointsMemo. Opposition to the freedom to marry among registered voters is just 35%, according to the poll...
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Michigan May Have Marriage Equality By Day's End
As their [same-sex adoption] case progressed, the judge — the conservative, federal court judge – unexpectedly invited April and Jayne to amend their lawsuit to contest Michigan’s ban on same-sex marriage, something the couple hadn’t considered.They decided to contest Michigan’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage in September, sadly with little to no help from state and national LGBT organizations, who wrote the case off as not part of their strategy.Last month, one of the defendants, Oakland County, refused to defend Michigan’s ban on marriage for same-sex couples, leaving Governor Rick Snyder and Michigan Attorney General Bill Schute with having to tell the court why these two super-heroes should not be allowed to adopt their children and raise them as a loving family with two legally-married parents.~[U.S. District Court] Judge Friedman has been known to deliver rulings from the bench, and LGBT groups believe there is a possibility, however slight, that if the judge rules in favor of Jayne and April, same-sex marriage equality could be the law of the land by the end of the day.Of course, even if that’s the case, there likely will be an appeal, so don’t plan your Michigan same-sex wedding just yet. But you can hope.
Monday, February 4, 2013
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Gov. Snyder (R-MI) on Electoral Rigging
I'm still not sure where he is on this issue given this clip. He's saying not now, maybe later. Perhaps he should have been asked a follow-up question or two.
Republicans in six state legislatures (Florida, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Wisconsin) are considering similar schemes of allocating their electoral votes, but are seeing considerable push-back. Governor Bob McDonnell (R-VA) seems to be opposed to it, as are a few GOP members of the state's tightly split Senate (20 Democrats and 20 Republicans).
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Can Michigan's Right-To-Work Law Be Implemented?
From Politicus USA:
Did Michigan Republicans even read the ALEC-Koch “Right-to-Work” legislation they just passed?It doesn’t appear likely. Why? Because the law may not be able to be implemented as intended.Just as the Wisconsin law violated their state constitution, so it appears the Michigan law does the same, albeit for different reasons. In addition to the violation of the state constitution, just as in Wisconsin, we also have a lawsuit filed over the violation of the Michigan Open Meetings law. But to the constitutional issue…Michigan Senate Democrats report, “The Michigan Constitution gives clear authority to the Civil Service Commission over conditions of employment for the state’s workforce. Experts have suggested today only a vote of the Civil Service Commission could enact Right to Work policies for state workers.”Oopsie.
This is the sort of thing that happens when a national organization is writing your legislation for you. But one assumes that the big boys at ALEC did not count on the uber laziness of the Republicans. Surely they were meant to fine tune the bill to suit their state. But then, when you shove a bill through in a lameduck session and don’t hold it open for debate, these things tend to happen.
Yet again, the joke is on the GOP. All of this controversy for nothing it seems.
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Thursday, June 21, 2012
The Wrap-Up: June 21, 2012
Loving, stable same-sex couple being married is not something to be tolerated...so says Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL).
In news that isn't really news because we all this coming, the GOP plan for the Bush tax cuts (i.e. extending them) really only benefits the super-rich while costing everyone else.
Wondering which of the 32 pro-football (or American football for any foreign readers) is the best candidate to have the first openly gay team member? Let's just say that I' quite happy about this assessment.
While on the subject of Minnesota and the state marriage equality ban, equality supporters have an advantage over their opponents in the fundraising race.
The Catholic nuns who are on a bus tour protesting Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-WI) budget plan hit up his district office on Monday.
Regardless of how the Supreme Court rules on the Affordable Care Act, most people want reform of the health care industry.
And lastly, some commentary on Michigan's vagina problem.
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
The Wrap-Up: June 20, 2012
Mitt Romney thinks gay parents are inferior to straight parents. I guess that's fair since I think he is an inferior (and awkward) political candidate.
J.P. Morgan Chase, that bank that recently lost billions of dollars, gets a HUGE taxpayer funded subsidy...which it uses to screw over its clients by making unduly risky decisions. Your tax dollars at work folks.
After announcing support for marriage equality, Carrie Underwood has received some nasty backlash from fans and so-called Christians. Also it is apparently un-country to be vegan. You learn something new everyday I suppose.
Ever wonder what caused the holocaust? Apparently, according to "Joe the Plumber" (who is running for Congress), it was gun control.
Despite so many people clambering for Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) to be number two on the GOP ticket, it seriously looks like that will not happen this go-round.
A group of Catholic nuns is going on the road to fight for social justice and highlighting the church's work with the homeless and the sick instead of doing what the Vatican wants them to do...you know, like demogoging against the gays (silly nuns).
And lastly, new HRC President Chad Griffin talks about the plight of LGBT youth.
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