Happy Birthday, Michigan

Quietly celebrating 175 years of statehood for Michigan today, created out of "The Toledo War"

Tigers news: Victor Martinez out for the season

What a kick in the teeth - this guy was money for Detroit last season, and tough as nails.  The perfect guy to hit behind Miguel Cabrera.  So now the question is who takes his place?  Here is the list that the Detroit News came up with, with their 2011 stats:

Carlos Pena, Cubs, .225, 28, 80
Vladimir Guerrero, Orioles, .290, 13, 63
Johnny Damon, Rays, .261, 16, 73
Prince Fielder, Brewers, .299, 38, 120
Yoenis Cespedes (NA)
Carlos Guillen, Tigers, .232, 3, 13

I tell you, if I'm the opposing manager, the only guy I don't walk Cabrera to get to is Fielder.  Maybe Guerrero.  Those other guys hitting behind Cabrera means you are losing a ton of offense, especially since you are then counting on guys like Worth, Inge, and Kelly to be big RBI guys, which they have never been.  The only proven reliable hitter they have in the lineup after the 5-hole would be Delmon Young.  I might still walk Cabrera to get to Young, but I have to think a lot harder about it.

Fielder is an interesting thought even as a 1-year rental.  Since they both play the same position, you could split the defensive tasks between Cabrera and Fielder, and they might both be a little fresher come playoff time.  They both play every day, just one or the other of them plays defense.

I know - that's a crazy and expensive scenario.  But interesting.  And you don't waste a season plugging in utility guys in that spot.  You have to figure VMart's salary this year is covered by insurance, so you might give Fielder 10 or 12 million on a 1-year deal for a shot at the World Series if no one else signs him.

Sugar Bowl proves UM a fraud

Once again, UM shows the world what a fraud they are and how undeserving they were of a BCS bowl bid.  Less than 200 yards of total offense?  Are you kidding me?  Va. Tech handled you guys, but couldn't handle themselves.  Any team with a decent defense can stop the supposedly Heisman-worthy Denard Robinson (as Michigan State has proved 2 years in a row).  There are a couple of nice players there, but please - UM is living on its reputation (which the current crop of guys did nothing to deserve) and nothing else.  They didn't beat anyone substantial and got handled by the better teams they faced.

Fraud-verines.

More Anti-Gun Illogic

I'll let my friend Aaron over at The Shekel say it, because he does it so well:

The Shekel - Coins, Law and Commentary: When Misguided Belief In Magic Regarding Guns Overcomes Rational Thinking

Who are these guys? A Look at OWS.

I'm just spreading the word here, via Lagniappe's Lair (and many others!)

OWS Raw

The Storm Drain of Government

Reading an article today by Eric Fry, and he gave this terrific simile:

The governments of the West have come to see themselves as a financial Army Corps of Engineers — overpowering the course of nature with brute force. They respond to short-term crises with powerful, overly engineered “solutions,” without ever really considering the long-term harm these solutions may produce. Sure, the river doesn’t flood when you transform every oxbow into a concrete storm drain. But diverting nutrient-rich silt away from farmland and into the sea is not exactly progress.

Nevertheless, governments throughout the West continue building their storm drains. They continue to divert essential nutrients away from the private sector and pour them into a bottomless sea of bankrupt governments and failing too-big-to-fail enterprises. In other words, the governments of the West continue to “do more,” when “less” would work just fine.

Friends, we have a century's worth of evidence that government at every level is a bumbling fool when it tries to do anything.  It never solves problems, but only creates bigger problems, which it then tries to fix with even bigger "ideas" that will lead to even bigger failures.  But the common thread through all of it is that taxpayers are expected to foot the bill for these ever-increasing failures without complaining.

Understand that I am not one of the anarcho-marxists currently "occupying" certain parks in several American cities.  I know there is a certain amount of government that is necessary for the orderly operation of society.  Vital records must be kept.  Contracts must be enforced.  Traffic must be regulated.  Property rights must be upheld.  Things of that nature.  But the sort of cradle to grave handout mentality that stifles and ultimately chokes out the God-given creativity and dignity of humanity, not to mention taking every penny from everyone it can just to feed it's Jabba the Hut-like maw - it must be done away with.  I pray that voters realize this in time, before those who don't particularly care for voting decide to do something about it.

Tigers Eliminate Yankees

There is joy in Motown today as the Detroit Tigers eliminated the New York Yankees from the American League playoffs last night.  Lots of clutch pitching against a potent Yankees lineup.  Despite two blowout losses, Tigers pitchers held that lineup to a .260 batting average for the five game series.

Yet, to read the national media today (ESPN and CBS Sportsline in particular), the theme of the day is a requiem for the Yankees, bemoaning their loss rather than the Tigers win.  Because of course, nothing important happens outside of New York, at least in the media's eyes.  Or, in Baseball context, nothing important happens outside of the American League East (or the National League East for that matter).

I sure am enjoying the fact that the two AL East teams, those great juggernauts, the supposed cream of the league, who were going to beat up on those other teams from flyover country, are now both out of the playoffs!  It seems that the East isn't the beast it was made out to be.

So hats off to "Jimmy Smokes" and his band of baseballers - you sure have made it an enjoyable summer, and we who are your fans are looking forward to more baseball wonderfulness as you take on the Rangers.  But whoever wins that series, it doesn't matter, because the Yankees have been vanquished, and there will be at least one non-East team in the World Series.

But I do hope it's the Tigers!

Man is not free unless Government is limited

If you recognized that quote from Ronald Reagan's farewell address, give yourself a gold star. 

Now, many of you might think that this is the start of another rant against President Obama and all the other socialists that are running this country.  Although that would be an obvious and worthy place to direct more criticism, that is not where I am going with this post today.

Instead, I am directing it at Gov. Rick Snyder, and his proposal for the State of Michigan to require doctors to report to the state the Body Mass Index (BMI) of all children in the state.

Friends, this is where elections have consequences.  We all knew that Rick was a fiscal conservative and he has proven that since he was inagurated in January.  What most conservatives were willing to overlook was that he was a social liberal.  A social socialist, if you will.

The Governor appears to have no problem with big government when it comes to meddling in the private lives of individuals in this state.  Why is the business of the government what the BMI's of my kids are?  Of course, the answer from the big government Republicans is "we are paying for health care for a lot of these kids either through the insurance plans of their state employee parents or through the social welfare systems, so we have a vital interest in tracking that information, so we can form our policies appropriately".  Sounds all legal and proper doesn't it?

Well, if that sounds proper to you, then you have bought into the big government lie as well, because you have bought into the mindset that says "the government must provide the social safety net".  Or more broadly, "the government must provide the solution to every problem".  Ladies and gentlemen, this is socialism.  This is nanny-stateism at its most insidious.  It is this mindset that has let us to the edge of social, financial, and political ruin.  And unless we reject this thinking, our country will join all the others in the ash-heap of history who had freedom in their grasp, and traded it off for a bowl of stew named socialism (Gen. 25:29-34).

President Gerald Ford (no conservative, he) had it right in his address to Congress in August 1974 when he said "A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have."  This government, at all levels, continues to take everything we have.  Every right.  Every freedom.  Every dollar.  All in the name of enlarging the scope of its control over everyone.  Though he would never say it, this is what Gov. Snyder is doing.  The government has no business prying into the private relationship between a doctor and his patients, no matter how old those patients are.  Aren't we tired of the same old "it's for the children" rationalization for every new government program or initiative that comes along?  Haven't we learned that that isn't the reason at all?

Friends, this is not our birthright!  Our birthright as Americans is freedom, not slavery!  Freedom bought with blood and sweat and privation and death, because freedom is worth such things.

So no, Gov. Snyder, I don't want you prying into my children's personal information.  You can't know their BMI, their cholesterol, their weight, their music choices, or their reading habits.  You can't have them or their measurements.  My wife and I are the ones responsible for all these things, not you.  And the same is true for every other parent and child in this state.

Of Struts and Chryslers

Two weekends ago I had opportunity to drive my wife's van (a Dodge Grand Caravan), which I don't do very often.  This vehicle is 11 years old, has 155,000 miles on it, and is really starting to show it's age. But it still runs well.  She had been complaining about the front struts not being right and making strange noises, but I had not really driven it to see what she was talking about.

During this drive, which was about an hour of about 80% interstate and 20% surface streets getting to and from the interstate, I couldn't believe how bad it was.  It seemed that every ripple and tar strip in the road was going to bounce me off the road.  I called the mechanic on Tuesday and had it in Wednesday morning first thing.  Well, this began my education in the foibles of Chrysler minivans, circa 1996 to about 2004 (which I think they call "Gen. 2")

Wednesday after lunch the mechanic calls and says that the top strut mount is completely rusted through, and there is no way he can put a strut in there.  This is the spot in behind the wheel well where the top part of the strut attaches to the body/frame of the van.  Of course, I am now having visions of having to purchase a new vehicle for my wife in the next few days.  Then I remember a little tidbit of information I got a couple of months ago.  In my mind this is an example of how God acts in our lives and we don't even notice it.

At that time, we had had several major storms go through in the space of a week or so, and there was some serious water on the road.  My wife had driven home from her mom's after one of these storms, and upon arriving at home told me that the "transmission light" was on, and she was afraid the transmission was failing.  Well, what it really was was the "Check Engine" light, so I took it over to the local auto parts store and had them put their code reader on it to see what was going on.  It was nothing more than an oxygen sensor.  The clerk asked if we had driven it through any water lately (which obviously my wife had during the storms) and said that this was a common thing to happen.  During our conversation he said that he had owned a couple of Grand Caravans and had really liked them, but they had a problem with strut mounts rusting through.  My ears perked up at this and I told him I had a lot of rust on one my mine, and he told me that Chrysler had so many problems with it that they had made a little kit that you could install to fix it fairly cheaply.  Well, I filed that little bit of info away for later use, little knowing that I would need it really soon.  But God did.

So, back to the present, I mention this to my mechanic, and he says he will look into it, and lo and behold the dealer has a kit and so he is going to go ahead and see if it will work.  A day and a half later, after installing the repair kit (which he said worked better than he though it was going to), two new struts (completely shot, fluid completely out of them), a new tie rod on one side, and $1500, my 11 year old van now rides and handles like it's almost new again!  And I'm not making another car payment for the next 4 years!

On Saturday, wife goes out to a friend's house.  She gets back around midnight, and tells me "the (power) window won't close on the passenger side door".  Well, I wasn't going to go out at midnight to try to fix it.  We have already had trouble with these windows, and the drivers side doesn't work at all, but now the other window is stuck in the full down position.  So the next day after church I get on the internet and start searching, and wouldn't you know, Chrysler has had window motor problems with their minivans for a long time as well.  Indications are that it is a problem with the brushes in the motor, but of course you can't just buy the brushes, you have to buy the whole motor.  But I also found out that if you hold the switch in the "up" position while slamming the door, the window will move.  This did, in fact, work, and I was able to get the window up from the fully down and inside the door position to where I could pull it up and help the motor.  Banging on the motor with the handle of a screwdriver helped as well, and I got the window up.  So now the van is drivable in all weather conditions, not just when there is no rain in the forecast!

All I had to spend for that one was about $3.00 for the little door panel fasteners to get the inner panel put back on.

My conclusion is that cars are a pain, but I'm glad I don't have to walk to work.

Family Pride

I have to admit, I have been posting a lot this year about foolishness, stupidity, and downright idiocy, and I didn't want this blog to be all about that stuff, so I have been searching for some positive content that I could post.  And this morning it landed in my inbox.  This is my cousin Isaac (the fiddler) and one of the bands he plays in:

And the amazing thing is, he doesn't read a note of music.  He just makes it!

Al Gore: Eat less meat to fight global warming

From an article in The Politico

Al Gore wants society to ditch meat-heavy diets and go organic to combat global warming.
"Industrial agriculture is a part of the problem,” Gore said Friday during an interview with FearLess Revolution founder Alex Bogusky. “The shift toward a more meat-intensive diet,” the clearing of forest areas in many parts of the world in order to raise more cattle and the reliance on synthetic nitrogen for fertilizer are also problems, he added.

If AlGore is so concerned about "Global Warming" he can do two things today that would have a huge impact:

1. Stop writing and giving interviews to newspapers and magazines.  That would leave more trees available to cleanse carbon dioxide from the atomosphere and turn it into useful oxygen. It would also decrease electricity consumption needed to print his drivel, thus less coal would have to be burned to generate that electricity.  Not to mention all the gasoline and diesel fuel needed to fuel the vehicles that deliver these publications to their readers - lots of CO2 in those exhaust emissions.
2. Shut his fat gob.  That would decrease greenhouse gas totals in the atmosphere by at least 25%

Meanwhile, I'm going to have a steak for dinner this week in Al's honor.

Traffic Stop

I don't know if this is a true story or not, but I think it's funny nevertheless.

True story from a Kansas State Highway Patrol officer:

I made a traffic stop on an elderly lady the other day for speeding on U.S. 166 Eastbound at Mile Marker 73 just East of Sedan, KS.  I asked for her driver's license, registration, and proof of insurance.  The lady took out the required information and handed it to me.  In with the cards I was somewhat surprised (due to her advanced age) to see she had a conceal carry permit.  I looked at her and ask if she had a weapon in her possession at this time.

She responded that she indeed had a .45 automatic in her glove box.  Something---body language, or the way she said it---made me want to ask if she had any other firearms.  She did admit to also having a 9mm Glock in her center console.  Now I had to ask one more time if that was all. She responded once again that she did have just one more, a .38 special in her purse.  I then asked her what was she so afraid of.

She looked me right in the eye and said, "Not a damn thing!"

Kwame: Kilpatrick says Bing 'has a problem connecting with people'

Full Article Here

This headline in The Detroit News today.  Here are a few quotes:

"Economic development was the best it had ever been when I was there".
"City services worked better when I was there"
 And one of the reasons why the current mayor is not doing well: "they're talking about the old mayor every week."

Mayor Bing may well have a problem connecting with people.  But clearly, Kwame has a problem connecting with reality.

Kwame - just go away and leave Detroit alone.  She is better off without you there.

Pistons considering Isiah Thomas for coaching vacancy

I don't think I have ever posted about the NBA because I don't particularly enjoy the NBA any more.  I kind of follow it from afar just through general sports interest.  So, over the last couple of days in my meanderings through the sports pages, I see that Isiah Thomas is being considered for the coaching vacancy on the Detroit Pistons.

Now, back when the NBA was actually enjoyable to watch - when they didn't have all the strutting, preening thugs that they have today - you had great teams with great players beating each others brains out on the court.  When you think of great basketball teams you think of the Lakers of Jabbar and Johnson, the Celtics of Bird, McHale, and Parrish, and yes, the Pistons of Thomas, Dumars, and Laimbeer.  That was the Golden Age of Baskeball.

I loved watching the "Bad Boys" Pistons teams in their heyday, and I loved Isiah Thomas as a player.  He wasn't afraid of anyone or any situation, and played his best in the biggest games.  His coaching record, however, is less than spotty, and his days with the Pacers and Knicks don't give any reason to hope that he has talent as a coach, or that he can develop a team, especially one that will be rebuilding as the Pistons will be.  He's pretty much been a bust as a coach and as a GM.

Hiring Thomas to coach the Pistons would perhaps bring some positive PR, but it would quickly go downhill once the games were being played.  Please, Mr. Gores - don't start out your ownership of the Pistons with a move like this.  You will end up destroying your franchise.

Congratulations to Mickey Redmond

Former Detroit Red Wing and longtime hockey broadcaster Mickey Redmond has been elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame for his 30+ year broadcasting career.

I love listening to Mickey do color on a hockey game.  He came from a different era, but he understands the game so well and makes it easy for his audience to pick it up too. 

Congratulations Mickey - no one deserves it more.

This person is a Teacher?

Reading an article in today's Detroit News (full article) about protesters at the Mackinac Policy Conference, who apparently held a news conference, which was " organized by A Better Michigan Future, a coalition of about 50 union and public interest groups".  One of the quotes from a teacher really caught my eye:


" 'It can't be possible that everyone really believes that corporations need the money more than children,' said Tammy Hazley, a special education teacher from Sault Ste. Marie Area Public Schools."

Ms. Hazley, let me ask you a simple question:  From where does the money come to pay your salary?  I'll answer the question for you, ma'am:  it comes from taxes.


If, by the tax policies imposed on businesses by politicians to fund schools, libraries, parks, mass transit, subsidized housing, road commissions, police, fire, ambulance, etc., businesses which operate in your district have to downsize in order to remain profitable, how many of that company's former employees are going to be able to pay their taxes?  Especially in an economy like Michigan has had for the last 8 years?

So, if the persons in your school district don't have jobs, they move away.  Or they stop paying taxes because they have lost their homes from forclosure. How much revenue is coming in from those people who aren't paying taxes any more?  How much tax revenue is being generated by that company you want to raise taxes on which has had to cut its operation to the bone just to stay alive?  Is that tax revenue amount more or less than it generated when times were good and its operations were expanding?  And how many more people will it have to lay off if you increase their tax burden?  And what effect will that have on the tax base in your district?  Not to mention the amount of tax revenue not being generated by the companies that have already gone out of business.  But by law we still have to educate their kids.

So in light of these economic realities, and your expressed desire to have yourself in a classroom to teach students, isn't it in your best interest, Ms. Hazley, to see that those corporations that give people in your area jobs so they can buy houses and pay taxes [edited to add] are successful and thriving?  You really need to let go of the socialist claptrap you have been taught during your time in the Public Schools and step into the real world.  Because socialism doesn't work.  It never has and it never will.

Now - why are you on Mackinac Island protesting instead of being in your classroom teaching?  Did you take a vacation day, or did you call in sick?

Granholm Tweets Arnold: keep ur pants zipped

Full quote: "Another guy guv admits 2 cheating on his wife. Maybe we need more women governors. Guys: Keep ur pants zipped, for Pete's sake."

So Professor Granholm of UC Berkeley weighs in on the apparent moral superiority of women over men.  I guess she was too busy screwing up Michigan to engage in that other sort of behavior.

Frankly Ms. Professor Granholm, your Governorship isn't exactly one to be held up as a shining example for the rest of the country to emulate.  You and Arnold are running neck and neck in that regard.  We sure don't need more Governors like you, Professor, be they male or female.

I Voted

Today I voted to tell Virg Bernero no, you can't have any more of my money.  I need it more than you do.  You have streets to resurface- I have a roof to resurface.  You have Police to pay for - I have $4.29 gasoline to pay for.  Somehow I have to find a way to pay for that on my current income - so do you.  So cut the fat, put off purchases, sell off assets you don't need (like some of those school buildings you've closed), and all the other things that we poor peasants have to do when times are hard.

Edited to Add:  By a slim margin, Lansing voters rejected the tax increase proposed by Mayor Bernaro.  Frankly I expect to see an increase in "Impeding Traffic" speeding violations issued to try and make up the shortfall.  Nobody gets any points, but the City gets $120 or so each.

New Big-10 Division Names

I have to agree with Lynn Henning, whose headline in the Detroit News today reads:  Time to ditch ‘Legends,’ ‘Leaders’ for more logical Big Ten division names

From day 1 the current "Leaders" and "Legends" names have been completely lame.  The Big-10 should have asked for their money back from whatever marketing firm came up with them.

I actually like Henning's suggestions:  "Great Lakes" and either "Great Plains" or "Heartland"

You know it's a slow sports day when...

... one of your top headlines is "Long Snapper Daly commits to Notre Dame".  (From the ESPN Website today)