tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52611150240898167182024-03-13T12:39:03.495-04:00The Northern Michigan DemocratAlcona at Hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322731050301345116noreply@blogger.comBlogger119125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5261115024089816718.post-28110842956355979602013-03-09T00:38:00.002-05:002013-03-09T00:38:22.887-05:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is my final post at "<u><strong>The Northern Michigan Democrat</strong></u>" due to some recent health issues which require more of my time and attention. I am thankful to all who have been faithful followers and visitors and hope that in some way this blog has been helpful. Now more than ever the Democrats of Northern Michigan need to be acutely aware and involved in any way they can whether it's simply donating to a candidate's campaign or helping your local Democratic Party - believe me, <strong><u>any help you give is both helpful and deeply appreciated</u></strong>. With <strong>new leadership</strong> at Michigan Democratic Party there is fresh hope for change there and victories in 2014. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Verdana;"><strong>In Solidarity</strong>,</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Verdana;">Gary D. Horn</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Verdana;">Lincoln, Michigan</span></div>
<br />Alcona at Hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322731050301345116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5261115024089816718.post-65576538685026630572013-01-22T13:46:00.002-05:002013-01-22T13:46:51.157-05:002012 At The Northern Michigan Democrat<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #073763;"><span style="background-color: yellow;"><strong>The Northern Michigan Democrat had 3,033 views in 2012</strong></span><span style="background-color: yellow;"> and</span><span style="background-color: yellow;"> I'm <em><u><strong>very </strong></u></em>appreciative of all who visit the site - <strong>thankyou !</strong></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #073763;"><span style="background-color: yellow;"><strong>2013 will be a crucial year as we prepare for 2014 elections.</strong></span> <span style="background-color: cyan;">Kudos to the <strong><u>Alcona Progressive Alliance</u></strong>, located in Harrisville, for the great work they're doing. They will begin a Progressive oriented local newspaper soon so stay tuned for that.</span> The next election in Alcona County is going to be the school millage election. It's not a county wide election but one taking in four Districts. <span style="background-color: yellow;"><strong>Regardless as to how Alcona votes it may still pass because of the number of voters in Alpena.</strong></span> The State of Michigan has forced this election by not supporting education and instead robbing the children of this generation to finance and give away money to businesses. <span style="background-color: yellow;">If you haven't already joined the Michigan Democratic party for 2013 please do so on line or come to the <strong>Alcona County Democratic Party meeting the last Tuesday of each month, 7:00 pm, at the EMS station on M-72.</strong></span></span></span></div>
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Alcona at Hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322731050301345116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5261115024089816718.post-79784236142354805332013-01-03T11:42:00.000-05:002013-01-03T11:42:01.972-05:00 The White House Phone Number<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: yellow;"><strong>This is the phone number to the White House.</strong></span></span><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"> When you call you'll speak to someone who will record your message to President Obama. I called and</span><span style="background-color: yellow;"> <strong>I was finished in less than four minutes.</strong></span><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"> Take a moment to write down what you want to say or your "talking points" then</span><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"> </span><strong><span style="background-color: yellow;">call - <u>you'll feel glad you did</u></span></strong><span style="background-color: yellow;"></span><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"> <em>and if you do I'll feel good about writing this.</em> </span><span style="background-color: yellow;">Talk about the thing(s) that push your buttons - this is one way of getting your voice into the oval office. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: yellow;">I called and said I am opposed to <strong><u>ANY</u> </strong>cuts to Social Security and Medicare and to <strong><u>NOT</u></strong> change the way the cost of living is calculated for seniors.</span></span> </div>
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Alcona at Hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322731050301345116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5261115024089816718.post-2926336249435706072013-01-02T19:16:00.001-05:002013-01-02T19:16:44.831-05:00GOP's war on Women ... and Native Americans<h1 itemprop="name headline " style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: yellow; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">US House votes not to re-authorise domestic violence funding bill</span></h1>
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<span style="background-color: yellow; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Violence Against Women Act (Vawa) passes Senate but is not renewed after Republicans take issue with new provisions</span></div>
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<span itemprop="author" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person"><span itemprop="name"><a class="contributor" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/amanda-holpuch" itemprop="url" rel="author"><span style="background-color: yellow; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Amanda Holpuch</span></a></span></span><span style="background-color: yellow; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> in New York for " <u><strong>The Guardian</strong></u>", UK</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The bipartisan Violence Against Women Act included new provisions that add protections for undocumented immigrants. ( <span style="background-color: yellow;">Photograph: AP/J Scott Applewhite</span> ).</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A bill that would extend funding for </span><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/domestic-violence" title="More from guardian.co.uk on Domestic violence"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">domestic violence</span></a><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> programs has failed to be reauthorized for the first time since it was signed in 1994. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: yellow; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Violence Against Women Act (Vawa) provides financing to programs that work to end domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking as well as offer support to victims. The bill was approved for reauthorization by the Senate in April, but failed to make it through the House before the year-end congressional deadline.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The bill was successfully reauthorized in 2000 and 2005, but <span style="background-color: yellow; color: red;"><strong>House Republicans took issue with provisions added to the 2012 legislation that attempted to expand protections for undocumented immigrants, <u>Native Americans</u> and members of the LGBT community who are victims of domestic violence.</strong></span> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Advocates suggested additions to the bill based on researched trends in domestic violence and worked with both sides of the House and Senate to draft a bill they hoped would make it through Congress before the end of the year. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Kiersten Stewart, director of public policy and advocacy, Futures Without Violence, told the Guardian: "The Senate bill was already very much a bipartisan compromise, it seems very unfortunate that the House chose to fight the provision."</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: yellow; color: red; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>Stewart said domestic violence in Native Americans "is at absolute epidemic proportions" and that complications with federal and tribal jurisdiction gives perpetrators little accountability. Vawa provisions would allow tribes to prosecute minor cases of domestic violence and enforce restraining orders. </strong></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: yellow; color: red; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>"What Native American women experience is every bit as horrific as what many women around the world in lesser developed countries experience," said Stewart.</strong></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Existing laws allow for victims of violence to receive immigration visas and the reauthorized bill would recapture visas that weren't used in the first years of the program because people didn't understand how it worked. "The requests for those visas is already higher than the amount of visas there are and the requirements to prevent any form of fraud are already very, very high," said Stewart.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The new provisions for members of the LGBT community would allow programs to receive funding regardless of the sexual orientation or gender identity of victims. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Stewart said the additional provisions were modest and was optimistic that the new congress would pass the reauthorized bill in early 2013. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: yellow;"><span style="color: red;"><strong>Democrat Pat Leahy and Republican Mike Crapo co-wrote the bill</strong> reauthorized in 2011 which included the provisions that add protections for undocumented immigrants, the LGBT community and Native Americans. Provisions that expand dating violence programs and programs on campus were also included in the reauthorized bill.</span></span> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In February, <span style="background-color: yellow;">Republican </span></span><a href="http://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/Article.cfm?customel_dataPageID_1502=38826"><span style="background-color: yellow; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa</span></a><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: yellow;"> said he supported the programs funded by the existing bill, but not the new additions. "The substitute creates so many new programs for underserved populations that it risks losing the focus on helping victims, period," Grassley said.</span> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Vawa will continue to receive funding through March like other discretionary programs because of a continuing resolution signed by Barack Obama in September. These programs are waiting to see how funds will be allocated with the new budget deal. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Currently, Vawa programs receive $412m annually from the US Department of Justice. Vawa programs to help victims of domestic, dating and sexual violence also receive $187m annually through the US Department of Health and Human Services.</span></div>
Alcona at Hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322731050301345116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5261115024089816718.post-29675928303167074592013-01-02T18:35:00.001-05:002013-01-02T18:36:26.931-05:00Hold onto your ... "Seats" in 2013 !<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We all breathed a sigh of relief when the crazies lost the general election in November 2012 but <span style="background-color: yellow;">before we can allow ourselves to feel even remotely relaxed it's my unfortunate task to inform you that we have a <strong>rough</strong> political year ahead of us.</span> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong><span style="background-color: yellow; color: red;"><u>LOCAL</u></span> </strong>- There is an Alcona County school millage election in February ( <em>I will write more about this in a few days </em>) which is<strong><span style="background-color: yellow;"> critical</span></strong> for Alcona schools - including students and school employees - <span style="background-color: yellow;"><u>everybody has skin in <strong>this</strong> game.</u></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: yellow; color: red;"><strong><u>STATE</u></strong></span> - <span style="background-color: yellow; color: red;"><strong><u>Michigan is still controlled by the NAZI Party</u></strong></span> (<em> MNP a.k.a. Michigan Republican Party </em>) <strong><span style="background-color: yellow; color: red;"><u>and Der Furher</u></span></strong> ( <em>a.k.a. Governor Snyder</em> ) has signed a plethora of bills into law which range from bizarre & crazy to the execution of Democracy and the internment of civil liberties. <span style="background-color: yellow;">This is the year that the Michigan Democratic Party <strong><u>REALLLLY</u></strong> needs to get it's act together and begin to field candidates worthy of the office they are running for. The clock is ticking and so <strong><span style="color: #073763;">there will be an opportunity to take out two problem children in 2014 - Moolenaar & Pettalia.</span></strong></span> In Northern Michigan we need to be asking some hard questions of the MDP & ourselves and establich a cross-regional dialogue between County Party's. <span style="background-color: yellow;"><strong><span style="color: red;">There is <u>something wrong</u> with Northern Michigan politics that only Northern Michigan politicians can fix </span>(</strong> <em>are you <strong><u><span style="color: red;">listening</span></u></strong> Mark Brewer ? ).</em></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong><u><span style="color: red;">NATIONAL</span></u></strong> - Where to begin ? <span style="background-color: yellow;"><strong>The Republicans <u>were</u> on the ropes and instead of pretty much finishing them off <span style="color: red;">Obama spanked them and gave them candy.</span></strong></span> My hair is on fire over this ! I would never want Obama to negotiate my union contract and I am seriously upset about the other things he will be "negotiating" in the months ahead. 'Nuff said for now - <strong><span style="background-color: yellow;">I'm just sayin' that if you thought 2012 was a nail biter then you'd better hitch up yer britches !</span></strong></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: yellow; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Feel free to respond and let me know what you're thinking - all <strong><u>COMMENTS</u></strong> are welcome !</span></div>
Alcona at Hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322731050301345116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5261115024089816718.post-62779508282639483402012-12-28T19:09:00.001-05:002012-12-28T19:09:32.520-05:00Wishing you Love, Prosperity and Happiness in 2013<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Alcona at Hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322731050301345116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5261115024089816718.post-84355409101730821062012-12-18T22:17:00.001-05:002012-12-18T22:17:02.445-05:00A Time To Remember ...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7cuf8G4gtu1MZePLJpbqvWAvXGUD43WMHm4eSArh_kZTW8z-zUQZkLXOLTHL9D1IYWbvltJATQHhh6s1wGudbrXl39vyeEvKFvUTZjWB1YT0ZNAryGmtspRi_Nat4qSLydEmj2cn_Q3jK/s1600/408px-William-Adolphe_Bouguereau_(1825-1905)_-_Song_of_the_Angels_(1881).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7cuf8G4gtu1MZePLJpbqvWAvXGUD43WMHm4eSArh_kZTW8z-zUQZkLXOLTHL9D1IYWbvltJATQHhh6s1wGudbrXl39vyeEvKFvUTZjWB1YT0ZNAryGmtspRi_Nat4qSLydEmj2cn_Q3jK/s640/408px-William-Adolphe_Bouguereau_(1825-1905)_-_Song_of_the_Angels_(1881).jpg" width="434" /></a></div>
<br />Alcona at Hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322731050301345116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5261115024089816718.post-14602282348013346812012-12-14T15:01:00.005-05:002012-12-14T15:01:59.003-05:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Alcona at Hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322731050301345116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5261115024089816718.post-73267061324318192282012-12-14T14:54:00.003-05:002012-12-14T14:54:58.512-05:00Michigan's New Corporate Servitude Law: It Takes Away Worker Rights <div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Author, 'The Political Mind,' 'Moral Politics' and 'Don't Think of an Elephant!'</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Michigan's New Corporate Servitude Law: It Takes Away Worker Rights </span></div>
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<span class="arial_11 color_696969"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #073763;">Posted: 12/13/2012 9:00 am <strong><u>Huffington Post</u></strong></span></span></span><a class="absolute print-link" href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/george-lakoff/michigans-new-corporate-law_b_2292001.html?view=print&comm_ref=false" rel="nofollow"></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #073763;"><span style="background-color: yellow;">Michigan has just passed a <strong><u>corporate servitude law</u></strong>.</span><span style="background-color: #ea9999;"> It is designed to take away many of the worker rights that unions have conferred throughout their history: the right to a living wage. The right to equal pay for women. The right to deferred payments in the form of pensions. The right to negotiate workplace standards and working conditions. The right to overtime pay.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #073763;"><span style="background-color: yellow;"><strong>The law is intended to destroy unions, or at least make then ineffective.</strong></span><span style="background-color: #ea9999;"> It says simply that workers do not have to pay union dues to take a job -- even if they get benefits previously negotiated by a union. Most workers who don't have to pay dues won't pay, and that will defund the unions, killing them and taking away rights unions have fought hard for over generations. Without workers negotiating as a unified group, corporations will not have to grant those union-created rights. Corporations will have take-it-or-leave-it power over individual workers. In short, this is corporate servitude: You do what you are told and take what you are offered.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: yellow; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The deeper truth about unions is that they don't just create and maintain rights for workers; they work for and create crucial rights in society as a whole. Unions created weekends, the eight-hour workday and health benefits. And through their politics, they have been at the center of support for civil rights and other social justice issues. In short, unions don't just work for their members. They work for all of us. Including businesses: Workers are profit creators.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: yellow; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Since Democratic candidates tend to support the same progressive views, defunding unions would take away their power to campaign for Democratic candidates. The new Michigan law is thus also a partisan law supporting the Republican party.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #073763;"><span style="background-color: yellow;"><strong>Language matters.</strong></span><span style="background-color: #ea9999;"> Republicans understand this better than Democrats. Republicans have called their corporate servitude law a "right to work" law, as if the law conferred a right instead of taking many away. The first principle of political and social communication in cases of conflict is: avoid the other side's language. The Democrats keep violating this principle, using the Republicans' name for this law. In this way they are helping Republicans, because using the Republican language activates Republican framing, not just for this law, but for conservative ideology at the deepest level.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #073763;"><span style="background-color: yellow;"><strong>Progressives and conservatives have opposing views of democracy.</strong></span><span style="background-color: #ea9999;"> For progressives, democracy is based on citizens caring about each other and acting responsibly on that care, with both individual and social responsibility, to provide through the government protection and empowerment for all. Government thus becomes a means by which citizens pay for public provisions to benefit all: public infrastructure (roads, bridges, hospitals, public buildings), public education, public health and safety (clean air, clean water, safe food, disease protection), a patent office to protection innovations, a justice system, and networks for energy, communication, and transportation. Without all these public provisions, we are not free: Business cannot thrive (if it can operate at all) and we cannot live decent, civilized private lives. It is a deep truth about our democracy: our freedom depends on such public provisions and the private depends on the public. Unions both defend these freedoms and add to them the worker rights unions have created.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #ea9999; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Conservatives don't accept this truth, if they perceive it at all. They tend to see democracy as providing "liberty" -- the liberty to pursue one's own interests and well-being through personal responsibility, without being responsible for the interests or well-being of others and without others being responsible for them.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #ea9999; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">From this conservative perspective, businessmen should have the liberty to run their businesses as they please to maximize their profit, and workers should rely on only their personal responsibility to get and keep a job. Unions, for conservatives, thus violate (1) the liberty of business owners to offer workers what is most profitable for the business, (2) the personal responsibility of workers, and (3) the liberty conservatives think workers should have to work without paying union dues.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: yellow; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>From the progressive perspective, the new Michigan law is a corporate servitude law, while from the conservative perspective, the law is a "right to work" law.</strong></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #ea9999; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Language works so that the conservative name "right to work" evokes the conservative political ideology in the brains of those who hear it without wincing. The more an idea is activated in the brain the stronger it gets. Thus, the use of the conservative name strengthens the conservative ideology in the brains of the public.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: yellow; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #073763;">The press is not being neutral in using the Republican name for the law. Journalists too, in just using the name, are supporting both the Republican framing of the law and conservative ideology. The press is not being balanced -- which is what journalists typically claim to be. <strong>Balance would be to use both the names "corporate servitude law" and "right to work law" and to explain the differences in the progressive and conservative understanding of what the law is and does.</strong></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #ea9999; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Of course, to do so would change a false view of language that journalists too often internalize, namely, that language is neutral. To see that it isn't, just try speaking or writing of "Michigan's corporate servitude law" and listen to conservatives scream bloody murder over a truth that does fit their view of democracy. And listen to them keep screaming because it is important to keep repeating the true name of the law if the public is to understand what the law really does.</span></div>
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<em><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #073763;"><span style="background-color: yellow;"><strong>George Lakoff is Goldman Distinguished Professor of Cognitive Science and Linguistics at the University of California at Berkeley.</strong></span> He is the author, with Elisabeth Wehling, of The Little Blue Book: How to Think and Talk Democratic.</span></span></em></div>
Alcona at Hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322731050301345116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5261115024089816718.post-71877946476673418312012-12-03T17:52:00.000-05:002012-12-03T17:59:41.755-05:00February School election - Critically Important <h1 class="entry-title padBtm" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: yellow; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><u>Millage needs to pass for Alcona Schools</u></span></h1>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">November 26, 2012</span></h5>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="color: #073763;"><span class="author vcard"><span class="fn"> <strong><u>Andrew Westrope - News Staff Writer </u></strong></span></span><strong><u> , <span class="source-org vcard"><span class="org fn">The Alpena News</span></span></u></strong></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong><span style="background-color: yellow;">LINCOLN</span></strong> - Alcona Community Schools Superintendent Shawn Thornton made clear on Monday that <span style="background-color: yellow;"><strong>unless the school sees an increase in revenue, it will have no choice but to cut teachers and programs to a degree that would seriously impact the education of its students.</strong></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Alpena-Montmorency-Alcona Educational School District's proposed regional enhancement millage was the topic of the Alcona school board's work session meeting on Monday, at which Thornton laid out the stakes of the pending millage election. <span style="background-color: yellow;">On <strong>Feb. 26, 2013</strong>, voters of Alpena, Alcona, and Montmorency counties will decide whether to give AMA ESD <strong>three mills ($3 on each $1,000 of taxable valuation) for 10 years, from 2013-22, to compensate for recent state cuts in education funding</strong> that have put AMA's constituent districts in dire financial straights. AMA would not keep any of the funds but would distribute the total among Alpena, Alcona, Atlanta and Hillman based on student population.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thornton said <span style="background-color: yellow;">Alcona schools' annual revenue declined by about $1.834 million from 2004 to 2012, partially due to a 24 percent reduction in enrollment during that period but aggravated by the fact minor revenue increases have not kept pace with expense increases. Since 2004, the school has cut teaching and support staff nearly in half, leaving only a single custodian in the entire district, and eliminated band, choir, the district's middle school, its guidance counselor, almost all elective courses, paid field trips, at-risk student support, its police liaison, district-operated food service, its media specialist, dozens of other clubs and positions, and bus routes to an extant that has made the average one-way bus ride two hours long.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thornton said she believes the school has done an "outstanding" job under the circumstances, but she and the board supported AMA's proposal for a millage election because AMA is the only entity that can legally hold one, and because it is the only viable option left to them.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"It's not that we have not been, as a district, responsive to declining enrollment. We were ... aware of the fact that we were going to experience declining enrollment, and we planned for that. It's all the other stuff on top of that that has been absolutely financially crippling to the district," she said. "We will go into deficit at some point unless I cut things, and quite frankly, when I look around, I am a little flabbergasted about what would be next."</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: yellow; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The school's auditor recommended maintaining a fund equity equal to at least one month of operating expenses, or about $738,000. Maintaining its current level of services, revenue, and expenses; and accounting for an allegedly optimistic $220,000 carryover from the previous year; the school would see its fund balance drop to about $13,200 in the 2013-14 school year, a fraction of a single day's operating expenses. Thornton said the enhancement millage would generate about $780,000 for the school preventing it from falling into deficit and possibly allowing it to restore programs that have been cut. If the millage fails, the school would need to cut about $600,000 more from its budget to approach a safe fund balance.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"This enhancement millage is not a windfall for our district," she said. "This enhancement millage is necessary for our district, for us to even be able to stay where we are and continue to provide quality education."</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: yellow; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Steering committee members Bob Petrovich and Robyn Hart said they would attempt to inform the public about the millage over the next few months.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Andrew Westrope can be reached via e-mail at </span><a href="mailto:awestrope@thealpenanews.com"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">awestrope@thealpenanews.com</span></a><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> or by phone at 358-5693.</span></div>
Alcona at Hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322731050301345116noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5261115024089816718.post-54668570160264304692012-12-03T12:39:00.000-05:002012-12-03T12:39:22.885-05:00Mich. Senate Bill 975 would allow doctors to refuse care<h1 itemprop="name" style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="submitted"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="submitted-label">By</span> <span style="background-color: yellow;"><u>Michigan Radio</u></span> Newsroom</span> </span></span></h1>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: yellow;">Medical providers would be able to refuse care to patients care based on their religious beliefs - under a bill before the state Senate.</span><br />Emily Dievendorf is with the gay rights group Equality Michigan. She says Senate Bill 975 would sanction discrimination. <span style="background-color: yellow;"><strong>"Under this bill, a doctor in a public hospital could refuse, because of religious beliefs, to provide health services to anybody seeking medical care based on any kind of arbitrary criteria that he feels can be supported by his or her strongly held religious belief or moral conviction. "</strong></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"> <!--break--></span></span><br /><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Critics of the bill are worried it could get pushed through in the end-of-the-year "lame duck" session.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="background-color: yellow; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">They say the bill would also protect against civil, criminal, and administrative liability and action.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But <span style="background-color: yellow;"><strong>the bill's sponsor, <u>Senator John Moolenaar</u></strong></span> says it would all be transparent to a patient. "The goal is to try and encourage those kind of conversations, and a conflict resolution mechanism in place, preemptively, so that the patient enjoys the best possible medical care."<br /><br />Moolenaar also noted that if there were an emergency – patient care would be first priority.<br /> </span><br />
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- Chris Zollars, Michigan Radio Newsroom</span></div>
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Alcona at Hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322731050301345116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5261115024089816718.post-14959701932721249002012-11-28T00:20:00.000-05:002012-11-28T00:20:25.111-05:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Alcona at Hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322731050301345116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5261115024089816718.post-87977068567872387102012-11-27T14:48:00.000-05:002012-11-27T14:48:08.481-05:00Senator Stabenow re : Medicare & Medicaid ...<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" style="color: #333333; font-family: Times,Times New Roman,Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px; width: 100%px;">
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<span>November 27, 2012</span></div>
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<span>Gary D. Horn</span></div>
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<span>Dear Gary,</span></div>
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<span>Thank you for contacting me about making changes to Medicare and Medicaid. I understand your views. </span></div>
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<span>Since the enactment of Medicare in 1965, America's seniors have been guaranteed affordable, comprehensive health insurance when they retire. <span style="background-color: yellow;">The budget passed by the House of Representatives would end Medicare as we know it and throw seniors into the private market, putting insurance company bureaucrats between seniors and their doctors.</span></span><span style="background-color: yellow;"><span> </span><span>Benefits would be cut and seniors' out-of-pocket costs would double.</span><span> </span><span>When this proposal came before the Senate it was defeated by a vote of 40-57.</span></span><span> </span></div>
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<span>Instead of ending Medicare, we should look at common-sense ways to save taxpayers and seniors money.<span style="background-color: yellow;"> It is actually illegal for Medicare to use its buying power to get the best prices on prescription drugs, which results in taxpayers spending billions of dollars more than they should on medicines. I support legislation to allow Medicare to negotiate with drug companies to get lower prices for seniors, strengthening Medicare for years to come.</span></span></div>
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<span>The House of Representatives budget would also cut Medicaid. <span style="background-color: yellow;">I am committed to protecting and strengthening Medicaid by cutting waste, fraud and abuse-not by cutting health benefits for seniors and kids.</span> As Congress continues to work on the federal budget, I will keep your views in mind.</span></div>
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<span>Thank you again for contacting me. Please continue to keep me informed about issues of concern to you and your family.</span></div>
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<span>Sincerely,</span></div>
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<span><span style="background-color: yellow;">Debbie Stabenow</span></span></div>
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U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow<br />The United States Senate• Washington, DC 20510<br /><a href="https://iqs3.solutions.lmit.com/iqextranet/iqClickTrk.aspx?&cid=quorum_stabenow-iq&crop=18284.45533704.18042522.16877872&redirect=http%3a%2f%2fstabenow.senate.gov" target="_blank">stabenow.senate.gov</a></div>
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Alcona at Hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322731050301345116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5261115024089816718.post-61275553922559619572012-11-26T10:09:00.000-05:002012-11-26T10:09:45.474-05:0015 topics to watch during the Michigan Legislature's 'lame duck' session - from unions to abortion to personal property taxes<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">By <span class="author vcard"><a class="fn" href="http://connect.mlive.com/user/TMartin4/posts.html"> Tim Martin | tmartin4@mlive.com</a></span><span class="source-org vcard" style="display: none; visibility: hidden;">MLive.com</span><br />on November 26, 2012 at 6:5<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">0 AM </span></span></div>
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<span class="adv-photo-large"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="photo-data"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><span class="caption">The Legislature's "lame duck" session should begin to heat up this week.</span><span class="byline">MLive.com file photo</span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">LANSING, MI - At least in theory, there’s no need for the Michigan Legislature to cram too many weighty issues into its so-called “lame duck” session – which begins in earnest this week.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: yellow; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Republicans will maintain majorities in both the House and Senate when the 2013-14 Legislature convenes in January. Republican Gov. Rick Snyder will still be in office. Issues that aren’t resolved by the end of this year can be resurrected later with many of the same key players involved.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But “lame duck” sometimes takes on a life of its own as lawmakers push for their priority projects. That makes it difficult to pinpoint exactly what lawmakers will – and won’t – accomplish over the next few weeks.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Lawmakers are likely to pass dozens of bills between now and the end of the year. Here are 15 topics bound to at least be discussed at the state Capitol over the next few weeks:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><strong><span style="background-color: yellow;">Right to work:</span></strong> How deep will Michigan lawmakers dive into this politically charged labor relations issue? Republican leaders say a discussion about right-to-work is likely over the next few weeks. But that doesn’t necessarily mean action on any specific proposal is forthcoming – particularly since Snyder has repeatedly said right-to-work isn’t on his agenda. Right-to-work laws prohibit labor contracts that require workers to pay union dues. Indiana’s move to become the nation’s 23rd right-to-work state has </span></span><a href="http://www.mlive.com/business/index.ssf/2012/11/rick_haglund_if_conditions_wer.html"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">intensified the debate</span></a><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> in Michigan. So has union-backed Proposal 2, which would have guaranteed collective bargaining rights in the state constitution and short-circuited a right-to-work movement. Voters rejected Proposal 2 in this month's election. Supporters will continue to push for right-to-work, but it's difficult to tell how much attention the issue might get during lame duck.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: yellow;"><strong>Emergency manager law:</strong> </span></span><a href="http://www.mlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2012/11/michigan_emergency_manager_law.html"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Voters also rejected</span></a><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Proposal 1, which means Public Act 4 of 2011 is repealed. That leaves lawmakers wondering if they should pass a different measure aimed at giving emergency managers more powers to fix the financially troubled cities and schools they’re appointed to run. It’s a tricky balance. Lawmakers say they don’t want to be seen as trying to override a vote of the people. But while Public Act 4 may be gone, the financially troubled cities and schools that sparked its passage remain. It will at least be a significant discussion item – and possibly an action item -- during lame duck.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><strong><span style="background-color: yellow;">Personal property tax:</span></strong> Phasing out or eliminating the tax paid by businesses on some types of equipment is a priority for many Republicans. But they’ll have to reach agreement on how to replace revenue that would be lost to some local governments and schools relying on the money. Supporters say </span></span><a href="http://www.mlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2012/05/michigan_personal_property_tax_1.html"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">shedding the personal property tax</span></a><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> could spark more business investment in Michigan.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><strong><span style="background-color: yellow;">Abortion:</span></strong> Remember “Vaginagate” and </span></span><a href="http://www.mlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2012/06/michigan_vagina_monologues.html"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">protests at the state Capitol</span></a><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> after the Michigan House passed a </span><a href="http://www.mlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2012/07/michigan_abortion_legislation.html"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">sweeping proposal</span></a><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> that would add regulatory and insurance requirements for some facilities that perform abortions? </span><a href="http://www.legislature.mi.gov/(S(otzqqafvp4s20ca3dl0fxdbf))/mileg.aspx?page=getObject&objectName=2012-HB-5711"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">House Bill 5711</span></a><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> is likely to be taken up in the Senate sometime in the next few weeks. The bill also would enact screening requirements aimed at making sure women aren’t forced into having abortions, among other provisions. Critics say they think the goal of the legislation is to make abortions more difficult to get and more expensive by forcing some abortion providers out of business. Supporters of the measure say it seeks to improve safety for women.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><strong><span style="background-color: yellow;">Medical marijuana:</span></strong> Attorney General Bill Schuette says the state’s voter-approved law allowing </span></span><a href="http://www.mlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2012/08/medical_marijuana_michigan_sen.html"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">marijuana use for medical purposes</span></a><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> has “more holes than Swiss cheese” – and the Legislature is likely to try and plug some of them. One bill would more strictly define the relationship needed between a doctor and a patient in cases where medical marijuana is recommended. Another would allow law enforcement officers or other officials to access medical marijuana patient information. Critics are worried the legislation may go too far and unjustifiably limit access to pot.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><strong><span style="background-color: yellow;">Health care:</span></strong> Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan – the state’s largest health insurance provider with more than 4.4 million Michigan subscribers -- has long played a unique role in the state’s health care system. A </span></span><a href="http://www.mlive.com/business/index.ssf/2012/09/blue_cross_blue_shield_of_mich.html"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">plan pending in the Legislature</span></a><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> would transition Blue Cross into a nonprofit mutual insurance company and make multiple changes. Also: How will federal health care reform or “Obamacare” factor into Michigan’s decisions? Republicans aren’t happy that Obamacare remains on the books, but they may have to figure out what to do about an </span><a href="http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2012/11/gov_rick_snyder_moves_toward_f.html"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">online health insurance exchange</span></a><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> and Medicaid coverage anyway.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><strong><span style="background-color: yellow;">Auto insurance:</span></strong> Michigan requires drivers to carry no-fault insurance and is the only state in the nation that provides </span></span><a href="http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2012/11/michigan_man_who_beat_the_odds_1.html"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">unlimited lifetime medical care </span></a><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">for auto-related injuries. Some lawmakers say that makes Michigan’s auto insurance rates too expensive and makes the funding system unsustainable. Legislation is pending that would allow motorists to buy potentially less expensive insurance in exchange for limited personal injury protection coverage. Critics say motorists opting for less coverage could wind up underinsured and in big financial trouble if they are seriously injured in an accident. It’s difficult to tell if lawmakers will come to agreement on the issue during “lame duck.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><strong><span style="background-color: yellow;">K-12 education:</span></strong> Snyder wants to put the Education Achievement Authority into state law so it will be easier to expand it beyond Detroit. Plans call for the district to eventually include the lowest-achieving 5 percent of Michigan public schools. The EAA bill might get some action within the next few weeks. But a </span></span><a href="http://www.mlive.com/education/index.ssf/2012/11/michigan_school_choice_policy.html"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">broader school choice</span></a><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> bill may be more likely to wait until 2013, along with a school finance proposal that is now in draft form.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><strong><span style="background-color: yellow;">Cell phones and teen drivers:</span></strong> A measure that would ban cellphone use by novice drivers – those with Level 1 or Level 2 licenses – has passed the Senate and is </span></span><a href="http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2012/09/rally_to_ban_cellphone_use_by.html"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">pending in the House</span></a><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">. It’s one of the dozens of items that possibly could be taken up by year’s end, but action is not guaranteed. It would be called Kelsey's Law – named after a 17-year-old who died in a car crash while using her cellphone. The measure is aimed at helping prevent distracted driving.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><strong><span style="background-color: yellow;">Juvenile lifers:</span></strong> The U.S. Supreme Court in June ruled that mandatory sentencing of minors to life in prison without the possibility of parole is a form of cruel and unusual punishment that does not take into account a young person's potential for cognitive and character development. So is Michigan going to </span></span><a href="http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2012/11/schuette_calls_juvenile_lifer.html#incart_river_default"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">revamp its laws</span></a><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> in response? Cases already are in the state court system as the Legislature ponders the issue. A bipartisan group of state lawmakers has introduced bills seeking to address the retroactivity issue and rewrite state law in anticipation of future cases. But it’s not clear if the issue will be resolved by the end of the year.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><strong><span style="background-color: yellow;">Medical malpractice:</span></strong> Personal injury lawyers and their clients contend proposals in the Legislature would make it harder to win </span></span><a href="http://www.mlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2012/07/hundreds_turn_out_for_senate_h.html"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">medical malpractice cases</span></a><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> and make it tougher to hold bad doctors accountable. Bill supporters say the legislation would address inequities in liability statutes and improve access to care by creating a more welcoming environment to help address a looming physician shortage. The bills are likely to get some action in the Senate, but it’s unclear if enough support exists for final legislative passage by the end of the year.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><strong><span style="background-color: yellow;">Detroit/southeast Michigan issues:</span></strong> As of August, only about 35,000 of Detroit’s more than 88,000 streetlights actually worked. Legislation aimed at allowing the Motor City to move forward with a plan to improve its streetlight system has </span></span><a href="http://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2012/08/michigan_senate_takes_no_actio.html"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">stalled in the Senate</span></a><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">. Expect attempts to forge a compromise and get the deal done. Also, Snyder is still </span><a href="http://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2011/10/snyder_continued_failure_not_a.html"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">pushing for a regional transit authority</span></a><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> that would serve Wayne, Oakland, Macomb and Washtenaw counties.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><strong><span style="background-color: yellow;">Indigent defense:</span></strong> The House has </span></span><a href="http://www.mlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2012/11/michigan_house_oks_bill_to_imp.html"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">approved a plan</span></a><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> to create a full-time commission tasked with improving the system for providing lawyers to criminal defendants. The legislation’s future in the Senate is unclear. Michigan is just one of seven states where counties are fully responsible for funding indigent defense. The goal of the legislation is to crack down on counties that don’t spend enough on legal assistance for low-income defendants.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><strong><span style="background-color: yellow;">Community college degrees:</span></strong> A bill pending in the Legislature would allow community colleges to </span></span><a href="http://www.mlive.com/education/index.ssf/2012/01/attorney_allowing_community_co.html"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">award four-year degrees</span></a><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> with baccalaureate programs in certain fields such as nursing, maritime technology, energy production technology and culinary arts. Final passage of the bill may depend on whether lawmakers are able to work out a compromise palatable to both community colleges and universities.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><strong><span style="background-color: yellow;">Wolf hunting:</span></strong> Some farmers and livestock owners in the Upper Peninsula want Michigan to at least </span></span><a href="http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2012/10/opinions_divided_on_whether_mi.html"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">consider allowing a limited wolf hunting season</span></a><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> now that the animal is no longer classified as an endangered species. But the measure has opposition, and with a crowded lame duck agenda, it could be a longshot to be taken up by the end of the year.</span></div>
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<em><span style="background-color: yellow; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Email Tim Martin at </span><a href="mailto:tmartin4@mlive.com"><span style="background-color: yellow; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">tmartin4@mlive.com</span></a><span style="background-color: yellow; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">. Follow him on Twitter: </span><a href="https://twitter.com/#!/timmartinmi"><span style="background-color: yellow; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">@TimMartinMI</span></a></em></div>
Alcona at Hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322731050301345116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5261115024089816718.post-65898660510053302912012-11-23T22:19:00.000-05:002012-11-23T22:19:45.511-05:00Republicans say they don't have to change to win -- and they could be right<span style="background-color: yellow; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">By <span class="author vcard"><a class="fn" href="http://connect.mlive.com/user/sjdemas/posts.html"> Susan J. Demas | Political columnist for MLive.com</a></span><span class="source-org vcard" style="display: none; visibility: hidden;">MLive.com</span><br />on November 22, 2012 at 10:30 AM, updated November 23, 2012 at 12:37 PM </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #f6b26b; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Republican Party </span><a href="http://m.sltrib.com/sltrib/mobile2/55244691-218/election-gop-needs-party.html.csp"><span style="background-color: #f6b26b; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">doesn't need to moderate. It needs to modernize</span></a><span style="background-color: #f6b26b; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">. That seems to be the lesson most GOPers have learned after their thrashing in the Nov. 6 election.</span></div>
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<span class="adv-photo-large"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="color: #073763;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img alt="082211-rick-snyder-taxes.jpg" class="adv-photo" height="207" src="http://media.mlive.com/elections_impact/photo/9917474-large.jpg" width="380" /><span class="photo-data"><span class="caption">Michigan Republican Gov. Rick Snyder, second from left, is joined by, from left, House Speaker Jase Bolger, R-Marshall, Lt. Gov. Brian Calley and Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville, R-Monroe, announcing the 2011 tax deal./AP file photo</span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And I think they could be absolutely right.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #f6b26b; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So do Republicans in Michigan, who are making noises about shoving through in the coming weeks retrograde legislation like </span><a href="http://www.mlive.com/business/index.ssf/2012/11/rick_haglund_if_conditions_wer.html"><span style="background-color: #f6b26b; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>Right to Work</strong></span></a><span style="background-color: #f6b26b; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>, </strong></span><a href="http://www.dailytribune.com/article/20121120/NEWS01/121129994/oakland-county-school-officials-blast-snyder-proposal-for-state-education-overhaul"><span style="background-color: #f6b26b; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>school vouchers</strong></span></a><span style="background-color: #f6b26b; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong> and </strong></span><a href="http://thinkprogress.org/health/2012/11/20/1223231/michigan-tax-credit-fetuses/?mobile=nc"><span style="background-color: #f6b26b; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>tax credits for fetuses </strong></span></a><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #f6b26b;"><strong>(after they axed said tax breaks for children living and breathing outside the womb</strong>, like my beautiful, 10-year-old daughter).</span> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Can't make this stuff up.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yes, I know, the idea that Republicans should hold fast to unpopular ideas but simply sell them better doesn't seem rational after </span><a href="http://www.mlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2012/11/romney_gifts_lost_republicans.html"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mitt Romney lost</span></a><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> by more than 4 million votes to a very beatable incumbent due to adopting a hard-right, deport-'em'all immigration stance and a plan to </span><a href="http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2012/oct/03/barack-obama/obama-says-romney-wants-turn-medicare-voucher-prog/"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">voucherize Medicare</span></a><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And it doesn't seem reflective after the GOP blew its second shot in a row to flip the U.S. Senate, after nominating Tea Party candidates who declared </span><a href="http://www.mlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2012/08/akin_rape_hoekstra_women.html"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"legitimate" rape victims can't get pregnant</span></a><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> (Todd Akin in Missouri) or if they do, </span><a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/OTUS/richard-mourdock-rape-comment-puts-romney-defense/story?id=17552263"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">that's a blessing and God's will</span></a><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> (Richard Mourdock in Indiana) or what America really needs is a </span><a href="http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/05/senate-candidate-hoekstra-establish-a-national-birther-office.php"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Birther Office to validate candidates' citizenship</span></a><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> (Pete Hoekstra in Michigan).</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And it doesn't seem strategic after both the Romney and GOP congressional campaigns </span><a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2012/11/why_romney_was_surprised_to_lose_his_campaign_had_the_wrong_numbers_bad.html"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">based their polls and electoral projections on completely false assumptions and data</span></a><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I mean, if there's ever a time for soul-searching, it's after you lose winnable elections. But questioning the Republican Party's sharp right turn seems to be verboten for many so-called conservatives in good times and bad.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's kind of like the right-wing economic theory (which is </span><a href="http://douthat.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/19/marco-rubio-and-the-age-of-the-earth/"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">as sound as creationism, GOP '16 savior Marco Rubio</span></a><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">) that taxes can never be raised in good times or bad. Either way, we'll kill the economy. It's a neat party trick -- and sounds eerily as though a smart-ass adolescent had dreamt it up.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But that's why even though we're hurtling toward the fiscal cliff, </span><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/19/grover-norquist-anti-tax-movement_n_2161367.html"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Grover Norquist is still yanking on Republicans' chains</span></a><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, ordering them not to hike taxes to reduce the deficit -- even though the </span><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/24/opinion/sunday/24sun4.html"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2001 and 2003 Bush tax cuts are a big reason why we have said deficit.</span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But as an increasingly cranky Nolan Finley, who only clings to his statesman image only because he's surrounded by Michigan View blowhards like crayon jockey Henry Payne, writes, there's "</span><a href="http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20121111/OPINION03/211110309#ixzz2CxPSEoxN"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">no need for the GOP to panic</span></a><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">." </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: yellow; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Nolan also sniffs right off the bat that Republicans are "getting a lot of advice from those who would never vote for them," which, I guess, is <strong><u>his way of telling us independents that we're not wanted here</u></strong> (which has worked out brilliantly in the last two presidential elections). </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So what's Nolan's prescription?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"Republicans do need a tune-up. They have to communicate better with Hispanic voters and other ethnic groups ..." </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ah, yes. Let's just communicate our message better and folks will come around (even though Nolan has already dismissed any input from them in his lead). </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #f9cb9c; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>Sure, it's selling the same moldy wine in a different bottle. But Republicans are counting on the fact that voters don't have the sophisticated palette to notice.</strong></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #f9cb9c; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The problem is, as NBC First Read points out, is Republicans didn't just lose on demographics, but </span><a href="http://firstread.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/11/12/15115328-republicans-got-crushed-on-the-issues-too?ocid=twitter"><span style="background-color: #f9cb9c; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"got crushed on the issues, too."</span></a><span style="background-color: #f9cb9c; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> A majority of 60 percent said they support tax increases, whether it's on those making $250,000 or more or on everyone, according to national exit polls. And 59 percent support abortion being legal, while voters by 3 points back gay marriage.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #f9cb9c;"><strong>Anyone who's been paying attention in Michigan knows that the agenda of Gov. Rick Snyder and the GOP Legislature has been, well, the exact opposite of that.</strong></span> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Remember </span><a href="http://www.mlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2012/06/vagina_lisa_brown_vaginagate.html"><span style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Vaginagate</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, when the GOP House leadership silenced Rep. Lisa Brown for protesting draconian anti-abortion legislation that could result in mothers who miscarried not being able to get a basic D & C procedure? Snyder also signed legislation </span><a href="http://www.mlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2011/09/gop_talking_point_fail_domesti.html"><span style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">barring gay partners of state employees from being able to get health insurance</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">. And his tax plan </span><a href="http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/02/02/417160/report-michigan-tax-1000-poor/?mobile=nc"><span style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">cuts business taxes by $2 billion.</span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: yellow; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>What can we expect in the coming Michigan lame duck session and the next two years? More of the same -- and maybe even further lurches to the right. Republicans still control both chambers and Snyder has two years left on his contract. They're under no obligation to listen to what people want. </strong></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'm sure many Republicans believe the exit polls are </span><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2012/09/29/do-the-skewed-polls-crowd-have-a-point-not-really/"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">skewed</span></a><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, too, and are happy to ignore the fact that President Obama took Michigan by about 10 points.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So won't voters toss them out in two years for not listening? Maybe, maybe not. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: yellow; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Democrats have pointed out that their party actually won the popular vote on Nov. 6 for both the </span><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2012/11/09/democratic-house-candidates-winning-the-popular-vote-despite-big-gop-majority/"><span style="background-color: yellow; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">U.S. House</span></a><span style="background-color: yellow; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> and the Michigan House. But thanks to gerrymandering -- in this case, the unfair way Republican legislatures drew districts -- the GOP still controls both.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There's something to be said for that -- although parties do overcome gerrymanders. But </span><a href="http://themonkeycage.org/blog/2012/11/10/political-geography-and-2012-u-s-house-vote/"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Democrats tend to be clustered in big cities</span></a><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> (like Detroit), which gives them a disadvantage even in blue states like New York and California.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: yellow; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>But there's a bigger advantage for Republicans. The dirty little secret is that Democrats don't vote in off-year elections like in 2014, when the president isn't on the ballot. Republican pollster Steve Mitchell estimates that more than 500,000 Michigan Dems sit at home. </strong></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">President Obama also built the most high-tech, grassroots get out the vote operation in history. This is not an exaggeration, as </span><a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/victory_lab/2012/11/obama_s_victory_how_the_democrats_burned_by_karl_rove_became_the_party_of.html"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sasha Issenberg writes in The Victory Lab</span></a><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">. Anyone who tells you the Republicans have anything close to that, especially in Michigan, should be forced to submit to drug testing.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But that machine wasn't around in 2010. All of this helps explain why the GOP wave was so crushing. They would have won a lot even if Obama was engaged and Democrats woke up, but there's no way Republicans would have taken a supermajority in the Senate or Snyder's margin would have approached 20 points.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: yellow; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Republicans have another midterm election to look forward to in '14. Obama's team is apparently </span><a href="http://www.wvxu.org/post/will-ohios-democratic-ground-game-work-2014"><span style="background-color: yellow; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">looking to keep its machine alive this time</span></a><span style="background-color: yellow; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> and Michigan Dems will likely rally around a ballot initiative to get their faithful to the polls.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #f9cb9c; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But GOP strategists and lobbyists are already whispering to nervous lawmakers that they don't have to worry. Go ahead, pass Right to Work. The numbers still work in your favor for '14. There won't be consequences.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #f9cb9c;">And you know what? <strong>They could be right</strong></span>. </span></div>
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<i><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Susan J. Demas is a political analyst for Michigan Information & Research Service (MIRS). She can be reached at sjdemas@gmail.com.</span> </i></div>
Alcona at Hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322731050301345116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5261115024089816718.post-45130035159216305972012-11-22T14:39:00.000-05:002012-11-22T14:39:40.716-05:00A Thanksgiving Letter to the Republican Party<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span class="arial_11 color_696969"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Posted: <strong><u><span style="background-color: yellow;">"Huffington Post "</span></u></strong> 11/21/2012 5:27 pm</span></span><a class="absolute print-link" href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/thrity-umrigar/republicans-thanksgiving_b_2173710.html?view=print&comm_ref=false" rel="nofollow"></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: yellow; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dear Republicans:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: yellow; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>Thank you.</strong></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thank you for your class warfare, for your bull-headedness on taxes, your contempt for the poor and middle-class, your racism, your bigotry, your cluelessness about gender politics, your sneering hostility toward immigrants and minorities.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: yellow; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>On this Thanksgiving Day, a personal request: Please don't change.</strong></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: yellow;"><strong>Please keep digging in your heels about not raising taxes on the top one percent even if it means sending the country into a second recession, so that the rest of us can see, once and for all, who your masters are, whose interests you really serve.</strong></span> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Please keep talking endlessly about the wealth-makers and the "small business owners," and never breathe a word about the waitress mom who works long hours at the small restaurant, the clerk who labors at the small insurance company, the teachers who work heroically in crumbling school buildings, the workers who toil in factories whose owners constantly threaten to take their business overseas. Keep doing this until people see, as they did in this month's election, that your loyalties are not with the workers who fuel our economy. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">While you're at it, please keep pissing off women by talking about them in infantilizing terms, by not trusting them to make mature, adult, informed choices about their own bodies, by expanding your 40-year-old war against abortion into a war against contraception. <span style="background-color: yellow;">Keep unleashing people like <strong><u>Akin and Mourdock</u></strong> onto the people, who are already scratching their heads, wondering if they have suddenly woken up in the 1950s -- in Russia.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="entry_body_text" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Keep trying to convince us that a Republican who believes that abortion should only be legal in cases of saving the life of the mother or in cases of rape and incest, is a progressive Republican. That position will put you only slightly to the left of the Taliban.</span></div>
<div class="entry_body_text" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Oh, and please don't forget to insult immigrants every chance you get by referring to them as "illegals," and talks of rounding them all up and self-deportation. Doing so will <strong><span style="background-color: yellow;">ensure that you <u>stay out of power</u> for at least another generation.</span></strong></span></div>
<div class="entry_body_text" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: yellow; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And remember, it is your birthright and solemn obligation to shun the reality-based universe and continue to exist in the world of your own making. In this world, unicorns exist and human beings and dinosaurs lived side-by-side and global warming is a hoax or a left-wing, anti-American plot, and the president is a Marxist Muslim who was born in Kenya and traipses around the world constantly apologizing for America, until foreign leaders plug their ears and please tell him to take his apologizing-for-America ways home.</span></div>
<div class="entry_body_text" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And that's the polite version. In the more sinister version, the president is the anti-Christ or the Manchurian candidate, planted in the White House to destroy American from within. (I'm guessing he was dropped into the White House by those black U.N. helicopters that have haunted so many a Republican nightmare.) </span></div>
<div class="entry_body_text" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yes, please keep shunning reality because it will liberate the rest of us to live in 2012, where we understand that the way to improve our own marriages is really not by stopping gay couples from marrying, that just because of a clever marketing campaign coal doesn't really become "clean coal," and that speaking of dinosaurs, at least one political party in America seems about to become one.</span></div>
<div class="entry_body_text" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Now, to quote Marco Rubio, the new Great Brown Hope of the Republican Party, "I am not a scientist." Still and all, I do believe in science. It's sort of like, I'm not a doctor but I do believe that T.B. exists. Because people who are doctors, have told me so. So I'm willing to stick my neck out and say, I believe global warming is real and that finding alternatives to fossil fuels seems like a pretty prudent and rational thing to do.</span></div>
<div class="entry_body_text" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But rationality is of course, a four-letter word in certain circles. And so, I beg you, please continue your campaign against President Obama. Please don't be embarrassed when your presidential candidate courts the blessings of that old, adorable mop-top, Donald Trump. Be brazen enough that your toes don't automatically curl with embarrassment every time the Donald opens his mouth. Keep referring to the president as a wild-eyed radical, a socialist, a Muslim, an atheist. And for heaven's sake, don't acknowledge the contradictions inherent in each one of these slurs.</span></div>
<div class="entry_body_text" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: yellow;"><strong>Blithely ignore the fact that the rest of us see a mild-mannered, earnestly decent man who at times seems to be the only American left standing who still believes in bipartisanship. Or that we see nobility and grace in the manner in which he disregards racist insinuations; that this a man who is never mean-spirited or angry, who seems more interested in policy rather than posturing, a man who has run a mostly no-nonsense, scandal-free administration, a leader who has kept more of his campaign promises then any president in recent history. Unlike you, we see a man who treats his wife as his equal, whose affection and love for his children seems heartwarmingly genuine, who doesn't suffer from any of the dysfunctions and neediness that have marked so many of our leaders. Above all, we see a man who does not cause us to wince each time he says the word "nuclear."</strong></span><br /><br /><span style="background-color: yellow;">You see, we do not think our president is leading us into permanent decline, or heading a nation of losers and takers. We refuse to disparage our fellow citizens who are on disability or Social Security or food stamps or Medicare or veterans benefits, as somehow sucking the country's coffers dry. We prefer to reserve those labels for the corporate raiders and bankers and unscrupulous mortgage lenders, who actually brought our country to the point of financial collapse.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="entry_body_text" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: yellow; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On this Thanksgiving Day, I am so grateful that we can count on you to learn exactly the wrong lessons from your recent election debacle. I hope that you will continue down the path that you are on for a long time to come.</span></div>
<div class="entry_body_text" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Oh, I know that this will not last forever. I know that at some point simple self-preservation will kick in and you will have to tackle the illegal immigration problem in a humane, civilized way that is worthy of the greatness of this country. I know the day will come when you will pretend that you were always on the side of marriage equity, that you always knew that discrimination against gay Americans was morally wrong. After all, it is very hard today to find a Southerner who would argue against the civil rights movement, or who would brag of his or her role in disenfranchising fellow citizens. This is the trouble with the arc of the moral universe -- it has this inconvenient way of bending towards justice. </span></div>
<div class="entry_body_text" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Speaking of disenfranchising fellow citizens. Ahem. Please start raising money immediately from your billionaire supporters so that you can run more billboards in 2016 in predominantly African-American neighborhoods, reminding them that voter fraud is a felony. It was such a wonderfully visual reminder that the only way you can win national elections is by suppressing the turnout. Not to mention how much those billboards and other efforts by you pissed off black citizens, who were reminded anew of how precious their right to vote was -- and how much their elders had sacrificed to earn it.</span></div>
<div class="entry_body_text" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: yellow;"><strong>So, my dear Republicans. Happy Thanksgiving. Don't let me down. Remember, I am counting on you to stay wedded to the same myopic, ahistorical, mean-spirited, irrational, xenophobic, discriminatory policies and tactics that gave us the great presidential election of 2012.</strong></span> </span></div>
<div class="entry_body_text" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: yellow; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>And for this, a grateful 51 percent/332 electoral votes nation thanks you.</strong></span></div>
Alcona at Hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322731050301345116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5261115024089816718.post-40122782565873004892012-11-19T14:20:00.001-05:002012-11-22T14:40:36.882-05:00Moving Forward ... Where will the MDP find New Voters ?<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: yellow;">Well, it's over, <strong><em>for now</em></strong>.</span> However, the mid-term elections of 2014 will either strengthen or weaken President Obama's administration. The Republicans are busy trying to decide where to begin to re-craft their image/message without changing who they are. <span style="background-color: yellow;">This means the Democrats have some <strong><u>lead time</u></strong> to begin creating a strategy to take out more Republicans in 2014.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong><span style="background-color: yellow;">Here in Northern Michigan the "target" remains Dr. Dan Benishek.</span></strong></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Having lost the election against Benishek by less than a full percentage point, Democrats are anxious to have another go at him. The sooner a candidate emerges the sooner the fund raising can begin - again. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: yellow;">Key to the Dems strategy has to be using this time to <u>register <strong>new/ emerging</strong> voters</u>.</span> <span style="background-color: yellow;">A strategic demographic has to be the Native vote as many remain unregistered.</span> How to accomplish this ? Well, first of all <span style="background-color: yellow;">the Native American population continues to be largely distrustfull of the government for many reasons and prefer to remain on Reservation and detached.</span> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong><span style="background-color: yellow;">This is not apathy -<u> this is anger</u> - generations of it. </span></strong></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Democratic Party needs to find a way to reach and engage these potential voters with a message that resonates but more than that a message that represents a change in their lives. <span style="background-color: yellow;"><strong>Where to begin ?</strong> <strong>Who should the messenger be ? Does the <u>MDP State Central Committee</u> even have a Native American member to it's credit ? Hello MDP ... are you listening ?</strong></span></span><br />
<strong><span style="background-color: yellow; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana;"></span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="background-color: yellow; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana;">GDH</span></strong></div>
Alcona at Hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322731050301345116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5261115024089816718.post-65962262673572086042012-11-07T23:43:00.001-05:002012-11-22T14:43:12.999-05:00I'm Just sayin' ...<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: yellow;">It's the <strong><u>opinion</u></strong> of <strong><u>this</u></strong> NORTHERN voter that much of Northern Michigan remains conservative - but in an independent sort of way. The independent Northern voters find things in both Partys that appeal to them - that's why they can re-elect a Democrat from 1993-2010 and then elect a Tea-Publican in 2010.</span> There isn't even a real sense of who we are or what actually constitutes a Northern voter's interests. <span style="background-color: yellow;">Northern Michigan is a "region", not simply a couple of peninsulas.</span> The downstate and out of state interests push their brands here and flood Northern media into households without even trying to understand - to know- what the North is all about. This why some things don't fly with voters up here. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: yellow;">The trick going forward, <strong><u>in my opinion</u></strong>, will be to identify "Michigan's True North", give voters a sense of belonging that they don't already have, analyze Northern politics from a deep down approach, propose a "yes WE can" campaign that emphasizes how the broadest population can benefit from a Democratic Representative vs an "<strong><u>owned" Republican extremist</u></strong> whose affectioante funding is more "southern" in orientation. </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: yellow;">There needs to be intense investment in education in the Northern Region - not where colleges already exist but on high school campuses in RURAL areas. Tip O'Neil said it ... " all politics are local". When you save our RURAL post offices and bring public/private community colleges into the country - that's local</span></span><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: yellow;"><strong>There's nothing "community" about a community college if it's in someone else's community.</strong></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">I spoke to a distinguished educator 2 YEARS ago who had just returned from CHINA. He said that the Central Government there just ordered</span> <strong><span style="background-color: yellow;">1,000 new colleges </span><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">to be opened !</span></strong></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: yellow;"><strong><u>Government is part of OUR solution</u></strong> and this can happen here too. The question I would ask is <strong><u>if your government isn't working for you - LOCALLY - then who is it working for ?</u></strong></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: yellow; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I've met one man who has a sense of these things, an understanding that transcends the covetted politics of the national partys in an independent region - <strong><u>Derek Bailey</u></strong>. He leads from the front, builds coalitions, seeks common ground, informs, educates and has a record of accomplishments. He is ... " <strong><u>True North".</u></strong></span><br />
<strong><u><span style="background-color: yellow; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana;"></span></u></strong><br />
<strong><u><span style="background-color: yellow; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana;">GDH</span></u></strong></div>
Alcona at Hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322731050301345116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5261115024089816718.post-30602427170187698272012-11-04T22:38:00.000-05:002012-11-04T22:38:08.262-05:00Northern Michigan Democrat 2012 Voting Guide<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;">
<b><u><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Medium","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text2;"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Northern
Michigan Democrat</span> 2012 Democratic Voting Guide</span></span></u></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;">
<b><u><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Medium","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text2;"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">Tuesday November<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>6th</span></span></u></b></div>
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<b><u><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Medium","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text2;"><span style="background-color: yellow; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">Print & Take With You
to VOTE ...</span></span></span></u></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><b><u><span style="color: red; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Federal
Candidates:</span></u></b><u><span style="color: red; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></u></span></div>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #073763;">President <u><span style="background-color: white;">BARACK
OBAMA</span> </u>and Vice President <u><span style="background-color: white;">JOE
BIDEN</span></u></span></span></b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #073763;"><u><span style="background-color: white;"></span></u></span></span></b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #073763;"><u><span style="background-color: white;"></span></u></span></span></b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #073763;"><u><span style="background-color: white;"></span></u></span><o:p></o:p></span></b> </span><br />
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #073763;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong>U.S. Senate Candidate</strong></span></span></span></span><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Senator
<span style="background-color: white;">DEBBIE
STABENOW<o:p></o:p></span></span></b>
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Democratic Congressional candidate</span></b> </span></li>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text2;"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">1<sup>st</sup>
Congressional District<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>- <span style="background-color: white;">GARY McDOWELL</span></span></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text2;"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="background-color: white;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b> </div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text2;"><o:p><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"> </span></o:p></span></b></div>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text2;">106<sup>th</sup>
State House District – <span style="background-color: white;">KEN
HUBBARD</span></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
</td><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 0.75pt;"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"> </span></o:p></span></b></div>
</td><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 0.75pt;"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"> </span></o:p></span></b></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<br /><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><b><u><span style="color: red; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Michigan
Supreme Court: Vote for 3</span></u></b><u><span style="color: red; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></u></span></div>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #073763;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Connie
Marie </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">KELLY,
</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Shelia<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">JOHNSON,
</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Bridget
Mary </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">McCORMACK<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></span></span><br /><br />
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<b><u><span style="color: red; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">Education
Board Candidates:</span></span></u></b></div>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #073763;">State Board of Education – <u><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Vote for
2</span></u></span></span></b>
</span><br />
<ul type="disc"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #1f497d; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-themecolor: text2; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Michelle
FECTEAU</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
<u>and</u> </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Lupe
RAMOS-MONTIGNY</span></b></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></b>
</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #1f497d; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-themecolor: text2; tab-stops: list .5in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">MSU
Board of Trustees- <u><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Vote for
2</span></u></span></span></b></div>
<ul type="disc"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #1f497d; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-themecolor: text2; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Joel
FERGUSON</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
<u>and</u> </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Brian
MOSALLAM</span></b></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></b>
</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #1f497d; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-themecolor: text2; tab-stops: list .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><strong>U
of M Board of Regents –</strong> <u><strong><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Vote for
2</span></strong></u></span></span></div>
<ul type="disc"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #1f497d; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-themecolor: text2; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Mark
BERNSTEIN</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
<u>and</u> </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Shauna
RYDER DIGGS</span></b></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></b>
</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #1f497d; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-themecolor: text2; tab-stops: list .5in;">
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Wayne
State Board of Governors </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">–
<u><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Vote for
2</span></span></u></span></b></span></div>
<ul type="disc"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #1f497d; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-themecolor: text2; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sandra
Hughes O'BRIEN</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
<u>and</u> </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Kim
TRENT<o:p></o:p></span></b></span> </span></li>
</ul>
<br /><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text2;"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">*************************<u><span style="background: yellow; mso-highlight: yellow;">BALLOT******PROPOSALS</span></u>*****************************************************<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text2;">#1
– <span style="background-color: white;">Governor Snyder’s Emergency Manager
Act</span> – A “</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="background: yellow; color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-highlight: yellow; mso-themecolor: text2;">NO</span></u></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text2;">”
vote will repeal it<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text2;">#2
– <span style="background-color: white;">Guarantees </span></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text2;"><span style="background-color: white;">collective bargaining rights in the state
Constitution</span> and repeals some anti-union laws already in
place.</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Corbel","sans-serif"; mso-themecolor: text2;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text2;">A
“</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="background: yellow; color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-highlight: yellow; mso-themecolor: text2;">YES</span></u></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text2;">”
vote is recommended<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text2;">#3
– <span style="background-color: white;">25% of state’s energy to be by
renewables such as wind, solar, hydro, etc. by 2025</span>. A “</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="background: yellow; color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-highlight: yellow; mso-themecolor: text2;">YES</span></u></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text2;">”
vote is recommended.<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text2;">#4
- <span style="background-color: white;">Establish Michigan Quality Home Care
Council & provide for collective<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>bargaining for in-home care workers</span>. A </span></b><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text2;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“</span><u><span style="background: yellow; color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-highlight: yellow; mso-themecolor: text2;">YES</span></u><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text2;">”
vote is recommended.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text2;">#5
- <span style="background-color: white;">Change voting rules of the Michigan
House & Senate and state wide referendum questions concerning taxes,
requiring 2/3 majority</span>. A “</span><u><span style="background: yellow; color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-highlight: yellow; mso-themecolor: text2;">NO</span></u><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text2;">”
vote is recommended.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text2;">#6
- <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: white;">Require vote of the people on all <u>international</u>
bridge projects</span>. A “</b></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="background: yellow; color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-highlight: yellow; mso-themecolor: text2;">YES</span></u></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text2;">”
vote is recommended.</span></b></span><o:p></o:p></div>
Alcona at Hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322731050301345116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5261115024089816718.post-32838901307204095862012-10-30T11:16:00.002-04:002012-10-30T11:16:40.842-04:00A lot is at stake in this election ...<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #073763;"><span style="background-color: yellow;">In <strong><u>one week</u></strong> from this writing we will have, collectively - as a nation, voted on a myriad of questions and candidates and in some cases altered the future of this nation's politics and freedoms for decades to come.</span> As a grandfather I'm concerned that a more conservative government and court will deprive the children of future generations of their inherit right to be adequately represented and served by their government.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #073763;"><span style="background-color: yellow;">The government that's big enough to wage global war must not do so to the detriment of the citizens comprising the nation that supports them.</span> That's kind of like a snake eating it's own tail. We, as Americans, do not desire to exist soley to support the ability of our generals to wage war and the companies which thus profit from war ( ie. Halliburton ). Peace must be desired by the largest destroyer or death will become us, entirely, and we will be consumed. <span style="background-color: yellow;">The " <strong><u>military- industrial complex</u></strong>", that President Eisenhower warned against, conspired with the <strong><u>oil-intelligence complex</u></strong> and in 1963 conducted a coup that led immediately to the escolation of the Viet Nam conflict. <strong>Since 1963 these shadowy and secret cabals have used every means available to manipulate government to achieve their ends.</strong></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #073763;"><strong><span style="background-color: yellow;"> I fear that a Republican controlled government will usher in a dark and oppressive time and that America's servicemen and women will be "cannon fodder" for the next un-necessary war.</span></strong> </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>Truth, peace and the righting of government will be the responsibilities of the next generations which the right wing conspires to deprive of public eduation and socio-economic justice.</strong> As those of my generation approach the " golden years" we are threatened by the agenda of the Republican Party but also share a collective shame that we didn't want to believe it could happen - at least in our lifetimes. Thus, those <strong>future generations will have to fight against tremendous odds to raise the nation from it's ashes and re - establish the United States as a bastion of freedom and human progress.</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: yellow; color: #073763;"><strong><u>It's now upon us</u></strong> to use the only tool at our disposal to resist the darkness of <u>that gathering storm - a Republican government</u> - <strong><u>our vote</u></strong>.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: yellow; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>The Vote is the one tool that can create a renaissance or permit the darkest period in American history.</strong></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: yellow; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I urge you to vote emphatically for Democrats in this election - it's not just our election to lose - <strong><u>it's our future.</u></strong></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: yellow; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>GDH</strong></span></div>
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Alcona at Hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322731050301345116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5261115024089816718.post-84716431296988412102012-09-23T02:18:00.000-04:002012-09-23T02:18:43.696-04:00Northern Michigan is Key to Dems Victory in November<h5 style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="color: #073763;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Published: Tuesday, August 14, 2012, 8:45 AM Updated: <span class="updated" title="2012-08-14T12:54:59Z">Tuesday, August 14, 2012, 8:54 AM</span></span></span></span></h5>
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<a href="http://connect.mlive.com/user/pluke/index.html"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img alt="Peter Luke | Bridge Magazine" height="40" original="http://media.mlive.com/avatars/3769.png" src="http://media.mlive.com/avatars/3769.png" width="40" /></span></a><span class="author_byline"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> By <span class="author vcard"><a class="fn" href="http://connect.mlive.com/user/pluke/index.html"> Peter Luke | Bridge Magazine</a></span><span class="source-org vcard" style="display: none; visibility: hidden;"><span class="org fn">MLive.com</span></span></span><a class="follow" href="http://www.blogger.com/null"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Follow</span></a></span></div>
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<span class="adv-photo-large"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="color: #073763;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="photo-data"><span class="caption">(courtesy photo -- Bridge Magazine)</span></span><span class="photo-bottom-left"></span><span class="photo-bottom-right"></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Northern Michigan has miles of pristine Great Lakes shoreline, wineries of growing renown, the Porcupine Mountains, M-119, M-22 and the world famous Mystery Spot.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What it doesn’t have much of these days are Democrats filling the region’s seats in the </span><a href="http://www.house.mi.gov/PDFs/State%20House%20Maps%20-%20As%20Passed%20by%20the%20Legislature%20%206-29-2011.pdf"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">state House of Representatives</span></a><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: yellow; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In November 2008, Democrats collected 190,000 votes in securing seven districts stretching from Ironwood to Alpena to Ludington. Two years later, that vote total plunged to less than 96,000 and only one seat remained in Democratic hands.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: red; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>Any chance the Democrats are to have in picking up the 10 seats required for a House majority next year relies heavily on taking back some of those seats in the Upper Peninsula and northern Lower Peninsula.</strong></span></div>
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<span class="adv-photo-small"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="color: #073763;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img alt="bridge-logo-for-mlive.jpg" class="adv-photo" height="116" original="http://media.mlive.com/education_impact/photo/10616777-small.jpg" src="http://media.mlive.com/education_impact/photo/10616777-small.jpg" style="display: block;" width="155" /><span class="photo-data"><span class="caption" style="background-color: yellow; text-align: center;"><a href="http://bridgemi.com/"><strong>News and Analysis from The Center for Michigan</strong></a></span></span><span class="photo-bottom-left"></span><span class="photo-bottom-right"></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In their favor, the Democrats nominated in the Aug. 7 primary are facing first-term Republican incumbents forced to run their first re-election campaigns in a higher turnout presidential election. <span style="background-color: yellow;">While the GOP candidates have plenty of cash on hand, they are also facing a broader group of voters less likely to be familiar with them, and more open to considering criticism of their voting records in Lansing.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Rep. Peter Lund of Shelby Township, who’s heading the GOP House campaign effort, said his party is taking a statewide, not regional approach:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“We are looking at a lot of seats, throughout the state -- seats we are defending, open seats and we’ll go after some Democrats as well. Wherever we see an opportunity, we will go there and play hard,” Lund said this week.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: yellow; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>Scott Dandia, the Democratic nominee from Calumet in a 110th District that covers the western UP, said two main issues will make the difference in his rematch with incumbent Republican Rep. Matt Huuki of Atlantic Mine: education funding and taxes.</strong></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Both, he asserted, are examples of how Northern Michigan Republicans have failed to represent the interests of their constituents by providing critical deciding votes for an agenda crafted by Gov. Rick Snyder and <span style="background-color: yellow;"><strong><u>downstate business interests.</u></strong></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Most school districts in northern Michigan receive the minimum foundation allowance of $6,846 in the current budget year. While Republicans boosted that to $6,966 for 2013, it’s </span><a href="http://www.house.mi.gov/hfa/PDFs/Briefings_New/School%20Aid%2011-12.pdf"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">still $350 less than in fiscal 2009</span></a><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">.</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Adjusting for inflation</span></a><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, the minimum foundation grant of $7,316 in fiscal 2009 would equal $7,825 in 2012.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: yellow; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">While a number of factors are responsible for the decline, Democrats will try to blame the Republicans’ $400 million transfer of K-12 funds to community colleges and universities.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: red; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>Northern Michigan also has plenty of senior homeowners living on fixed incomes, some of it from pensions.</strong> Dianda and his fellow Democrats plan to hammer their opponents for voting for Gov. Rick Snyder’s </span><a href="http://michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=133478"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: red; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">overhaul that applies Michigan's personal income tax</span></a><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: red; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> to all or part of public and private pension income for retirees born after 1945. The tax package also scaled back the homestead property tax credit for homeowners with more than $21,000 in annual income. For seniors with $30,000 in income or more, the credit declines by some 40 percent. Seniors and others with more than $50,000 in income lose it entirely. The old cutoff was $82,650.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: yellow; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>A </strong></span><a href="http://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2011-2012/billanalysis/House/htm/2011-HLA-4361-8.htm"><span style="background-color: yellow; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>House Fiscal Agency analysis of eight examples of senior households</strong></span></a><span style="background-color: yellow; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong> last year found that the income tax increases for the current tax year would range from $326 to $3,130, depending on age, source and amount of income, and size of property tax bill. Dianda said Republicans are underestimating the political fallout.</strong></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“We have a heavy demographic of seniors living in their homes and (Republicans) are raising their taxes,” Dianda said.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Republicans can counter that the tax shift from business to individuals was critical for boosting job creating and making Michigan more economically competitive. Democrats will counter by asking how well it has worked out, given 9 percent </span><a href="http://www.michigan.gov/documents/dmb/LMI-JuneRegionalRelease_390095_7.pdf"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">unemployment rates</span></a><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> across the north. <span style="background-color: yellow;">At 10.3 percent in June, the northeast Lower Peninsula region had the highest jobless rate in the state.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The GOP’s Lund declined to go into detail on which seats had his party’s focus for November, though he emphasized that there are vulnerable Democrats on the ballot.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“I’ve always felt we had the advantage, but we’re taking nothing for granted. So much can happen. … The math looks good to me, to everybody, but … we will not be caught off-guard. We are going to fight in every seat,” Lund said.</span></span></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: yellow; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">101st District will Tell the Tale</span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: yellow; color: red; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>Any formula that has the Democrats taking back the House runs through the picturesque 101st District that runs along the shore of Lake Michigan from Ludington up to Northport. There probably isn’t a district that better illustrates the debacle the 2010 election really was for Democrats. For Democrats, the 2012 path to a 56-seat majority requires a victory in the 101<sup>st</sup>.</strong></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: yellow; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong><u>Rep. Ray Franz, R-Onekama</u></strong>, narrowly won the seat in 2010 with 19,386 votes, about 1,000 fewer than he received in his 2008 losing effort. He’s in the House because Democrat Dan Scripps received an astonishing 12,000 fewer votes in the 2010 rematch than he did in 2008.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“It is a targeted priority,” said Democratic nominee Allen O’Shea, a Copemish distributor of home energy saving products. “I have a lot of support from the caucus.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After talking to those who write the campaign checks in the next couple of weeks, he’ll soon find out how big of a priority it is.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In its July filing, the Michigan House Democratic Fund reported $782,000 cash on hand, about $70,000 less than what they reported in July 2010. The House Republican Campaign Committee last month reported nearly $1.5 million cash on hand, four times what they reported in July 2010.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The six Republican incumbents who seized Democratic-held seats in 2010 reported $284,000 cash on hand in July. Their six challengers reported $120,000 with five of them reporting less than $20,000 each. With $37,432 in the bank, Franz had twice O’Shea’s total.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: yellow; color: red; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>Even in the unlikely event Democrats regain all the northern Michigan seats they lost in 2010, they’d still be four seats short, assuming all of the seats they currently hold remain in their hands. So Democratic success also relies on the fortunes of four former Democratic lawmakers: Terry Brown in the 84th, Jim Berryman in the 57th, and Mike Huckleberry in the 70th.</strong></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: yellow; color: red; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>The fourth? That would be Roy Schmidt, the Grand Rapids Democrat turned Republican in the 76th District, who, along with House Speaker Jase Bolger, unsuccessfully sought to rig the November election in the Republicans’ favor.</strong></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="color: #073763;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>State of play</strong><br />The House of Representatives has 110 seats, but due to population patterns and the political nature of redistricting, only a fraction of districts are actually competitive in the fall elections. These 19 districts will determine which major party controls the House starting January 2013.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: yellow;"><strong>* Key Northern Michigan contests:<br />110th: Matt Huuki (R) v. Scott Diandi (D)<br />108th: Ed McBroom (R) v. Sharon Gray (D)<br />107th: Frank Foster (R) v. Sharon Shumway (D)<br />106th: Pete Pettalia (R) v. Kenneth Hubbard (D)<br />103rd: Bruce Rendon (R) v. Lon Johnson (D)<br />101st: Ray Franz (R) v. Allen O’Shea (D)</strong></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="color: #073763;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>* Three Republican seats being pursued by former Democratic lawmakers:</strong><br /><strong>84th: Don Grimshaw (R) v. Terry Brown (D)<br />57th: Nancy Jenkins (R) v. Jim Berryman (D)<br />70th: Rick Outman (R) v. Mike Huckleberry (D)</strong></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="color: #073763;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: yellow;"><strong>* Other Republican-held seats to receive attention:</strong></span>76th: Roy Schmidt (R) v. Winnie Brinks (D)<br />23rd: Pat Somerville (R) v. Tom Boritzki (D)<br />91st: Holly Hughes (R) v. Colleen LaMonte (D)<br />56th: Dale Zorn (R) v. Larry Crider (D)<br />52nd: Mark Ouimet (R) v. Gretchen Driskell (D)<br />71st: Deb Shaughnessy (R) v. Theresa Abed (D)</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: yellow;"><strong>* Key open seats now held by Democrats:</strong><br />67th: Jeff Oesterle (R) v. Tom Cochran (D)<br />25th: Sean Clark (R) v. Henry Yanez (D)</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="color: #073763;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>* Key incumbent Democratic seats:</strong><br />21st: Dian Slavens (D) v. Joe Barnabel (R)<br />50th: Charles Smiley (D) v. Miles Gadola (R)</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Peter Luke was a Lansing correspondent for Booth Newspapers for nearly 25 years, writing a weekly column for most of that time with a concentration on budget, tax and economic development policy issues. He is a graduate of Central Michigan University.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">© </span><a href="http://bridgemi.com/"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Bridge Magazine</span></a><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, reprinted with permission. Bridge Magazine, a publication of </span><a href="http://thecenterformichigan.net/"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Center for Michigan</span></a><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, produces independent, nonprofit public affairs journalism</span><a href="http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2012/02/bridge_magazine_content_enhanc.html"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> and is a partner with MLive</span></a><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">.</span></div>
Alcona at Hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322731050301345116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5261115024089816718.post-57183773853938515322012-09-22T16:37:00.000-04:002012-09-22T16:37:29.829-04:00Alcona DEMS HQ Open for Oct. 3rd Debate & Public Forums on the Ballot Proposals<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: yellow; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: yellow;"><strong>The Democratic headquarters will be open for the first Presidential debate on October 3.</strong></span></span><span style="background-color: yellow; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Come watch with your fellow Democrats and cheer on the President. <strong>The debate starts at <u>9:00 pm</u>.</strong></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: yellow;">A series of public forums on the ballot proposals is being <strong>sponsored by <u>Citizens for Alcona First</u>.</strong></span> Voters are invited to come learn about state-wide and county proposals and voice their own perspectives. Printed materials will be available to share with your friends and neighbors. Disseminating information about the proposals is important because many people go to the polls unprepared to vote on the issues.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: yellow; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>The public forum schedule follows. <u>They all begin at 7:00 pm.</u></strong></span></div>
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<strong><span style="background-color: yellow; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana;"></span></strong> </div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: yellow;">Thursday, September 27,</span> <strong><u>Senior Citizen Center, Lincoln</u></strong></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana;"></span> </div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: yellow;">Monday, October 1, </span> <strong><u>Greenbush township hall</u></strong></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana;"></span> </div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: yellow;">Wednesday, October 10, </span> <strong><u>Harrisville township hall</u></strong></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: yellow;">Wednesday, October 17, </span> <strong><u>Alcona township hall</u></strong></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: yellow;">Wednesday,October 24, </span><strong><u>old Methodist Church on Hwy 72/65 in Curran</u></strong></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana;"></span> </div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Please plan on attending one or more of the events. It is important that progressive voices are heard and that we are all well equipped to answer questions about the proposals. <span style="background-color: yellow;"><strong><u>Knowledge is power and Your VOTE is your VOICE !</u></strong></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For any questions or comments, feel free to call me.</span></div>
<span class="HOEnZb"><span style="background-color: yellow; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
<strong>Paul Peterson<br />Chair - Alcona County Democrats<br />989 - 657 - 0446</strong></div>
</span></span>Alcona at Hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322731050301345116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5261115024089816718.post-50333655718974921372012-09-16T17:17:00.002-04:002012-09-16T17:28:35.140-04:00Condensed Voters Guide for November 6th<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQTaD2FughEPFdm_krMF27g2quh1AyNMqYyRFm6xFiPLfsFTVlnuxF7ByQzmhW4q5vSL6hZZHWYKUJ1BDLRVnCXtophKbiLi2gdkWH3gjtM8Dx35BTXUepNpEtQY8AIRakDdIwqJm5Q2mQ/s1600/Political-Stance.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQTaD2FughEPFdm_krMF27g2quh1AyNMqYyRFm6xFiPLfsFTVlnuxF7ByQzmhW4q5vSL6hZZHWYKUJ1BDLRVnCXtophKbiLi2gdkWH3gjtM8Dx35BTXUepNpEtQY8AIRakDdIwqJm5Q2mQ/s400/Political-Stance.jpg" width="375" /></a></div>
<b><u><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Medium","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text2;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></span></u></b><br />
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<b><u><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Medium","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text2;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Northern Michigan Democrat</span> 2012 Democratic
Voting Guide<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>- Tuesday November<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>6th</span></u></b></div>
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<b><u><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Medium","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text2;"><span style="background-color: yellow; font-size: x-small;">Print & Take With You to VOTE ...</span></span></u></b></div>
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<b><u><span style="color: red; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Federal Candidates:</span></u></b><u><span style="color: red; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #073763;">President <u><span style="background-color: white;">BARACK OBAMA</span> </u>and
Vice President <u><span style="background-color: white;">JOE BIDEN</span></u></span><o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
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<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #244061; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128; tab-stops: list .5in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Your
Democratic congressional candidate</span></b></li>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text2;">1<sup>st</sup>
Congressional District<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>- <span style="background-color: white;">GARY McDOWELL<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text2;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text2;">106<sup>th</sup>
State House District – <span style="background-color: white;">KEN HUBBARD</span></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><u><span style="color: red; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Michigan Supreme Court: Vote for 3</span></u></b><u><span style="color: red; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #073763;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Connie
Marie </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">KELLY, </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Shelia<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">JOHNSON, </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Bridget
Mary </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">McCORMACK<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></span></span><br />
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<b><u><span style="color: red; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Education Board Candidates:</span></u></b></div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #073763;">State
Board of Education – <u><span style="font-size: x-small;">Vote for 2<o:p></o:p></span></u></span></span></b><br />
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<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #1f497d; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-themecolor: text2; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Michelle FECTEAU</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <u>and</u> </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Lupe
RAMOS-MONTIGNY</span></b></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></b></li>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">MSU
Board of Trustees- <u><span style="font-size: x-small;">Vote for 2<o:p></o:p></span></u></span></b></div>
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #1f497d; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-themecolor: text2; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Joel FERGUSON</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <u>and</u> </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Brian
MOSALLAM</span></b></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></b></li>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><strong>U of
M Board of Regents –</strong> <u><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">Vote for 2<o:p></o:p></span></strong></u></span></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #1f497d; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-themecolor: text2; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Mark BERNSTEIN</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <u>and</u> </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Shauna
RYDER DIGGS</span></b></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></b></li>
</ul>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Wayne
State Board of Governors </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">– <u><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Vote for 2<o:p></o:p></span></span></u></span></b></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #1f497d; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-themecolor: text2; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sandra Hughes O'BRIEN</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <u>and</u> </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Kim
TRENT<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></li>
</ul>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text2;">*************************<u><span style="background: yellow; mso-highlight: yellow;">BALLOT******PROPOSALS</span></u>*****************************************************<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text2;">#1
– <span style="background-color: white;">Governor Snyder’s Emergency Manager Act</span> – A “</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="background: yellow; color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-highlight: yellow; mso-themecolor: text2;">NO</span></u></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text2;">” vote will
repeal it<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text2;">#2 – <span style="background-color: white;">Guarantees </span></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text2;"><span style="background-color: white;">collective
bargaining rights in the state Constitution</span> and repeals some anti-union laws
already in place.</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Corbel","sans-serif"; mso-themecolor: text2;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text2;">A “</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="background: yellow; color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-highlight: yellow; mso-themecolor: text2;">YES</span></u></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text2;">”
vote is recommended<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text2;">#3 – <span style="background-color: white;">25% of state’s energy to be by
renewables such as wind, solar, hydro, etc. by 2025</span>. A “</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="background: yellow; color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-highlight: yellow; mso-themecolor: text2;">YES</span></u></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text2;">”
vote is recommended.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text2;">#4 - <span style="background-color: white;">Establish Michigan Quality Home Care
Council & provide for collective<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>bargaining for in-home care workers</span>. A </span></b><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text2;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“</span><u><span style="background: yellow; color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-highlight: yellow; mso-themecolor: text2;">YES</span></u><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text2;">” vote is recommended.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text2;">#5 - <span style="background-color: white;">Change voting rules of the Michigan House &
Senate and state wide referendum questions concerning taxes, requiring 2/3
majority</span>. A “</span><u><span style="background: yellow; color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-highlight: yellow; mso-themecolor: text2;">NO</span></u><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text2;">” vote is recommended.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text2;">#6 - <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: white;">Require vote
of the people on all international bridge projects</span>. A “</b></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="background: yellow; color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-highlight: yellow; mso-themecolor: text2;">YES</span></u></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text2;">”
vote is recommended.</span></b><o:p></o:p></div>
Alcona at Hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322731050301345116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5261115024089816718.post-44182430095276775442012-09-14T13:04:00.000-04:002012-09-14T13:04:02.418-04:00
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;">
<u><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Impact","sans-serif"; font-size: 36pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text2;"><span style="background-color: cyan;">Alcona</span></span></u></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;">
<u><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Impact","sans-serif"; font-size: 36pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text2;"><span style="background-color: cyan;">2012 Democratic Voting Guide<o:p></o:p></span></span></u></div>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;">
<b><u><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text2;"><span style="background-color: yellow;">Tuesday
November<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> 6th</span></span></span></u></b></div>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><b><u><span style="color: red; font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Federal Candidates:</span></u></b><u><span style="color: red; font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></u></span></div>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<ul type="disc"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #1f497d; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-themecolor: text2; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="background-color: yellow;"><strong>President
Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden<o:p></o:p></strong></span></span></li>
<span style="background-color: yellow;"><strong>
</strong></span>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #1f497d; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-themecolor: text2; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="background-color: yellow;"><strong>Senator
Debbie Stabenow<o:p></o:p></strong></span></span></li>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #244061; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128; tab-stops: list .5in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">Your
Democratic congressional candidate<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></li>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span></ul>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<div align="center">
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="1" class="MsoNormalTable" style="mso-cellspacing: .7pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184; width: 491px;"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><tbody>
<tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><td style="background-color: transparent; border: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 0.75pt;"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text2;">1<sup>st</sup>
Congressional District <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>- </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: yellow; color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-highlight: yellow; mso-themecolor: text2;">Gary McDowell</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: yellow; color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-highlight: yellow; mso-themecolor: text2;"></span></b></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: yellow; color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-highlight: yellow; mso-themecolor: text2;"><u>106th State House District - Ken Hubbard</u></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span></td><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><td style="background-color: transparent; border: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 0.75pt;"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"> </span></o:p></span></b></div>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span></td><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><td style="background-color: transparent; border: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 0.75pt;"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"> </span></o:p></span></b></div>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span></td><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span></tr>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span></tbody></table>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span></div>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><b><u><span style="color: red; font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Michigan Supreme Court:</span></u></b><u><span style="color: red; font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></u></span></div>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<ul type="disc"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #1f497d; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-themecolor: text2; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Connie
Marie </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: yellow; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-highlight: yellow;">Kelley</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></li>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #1f497d; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-themecolor: text2; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Shelia
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: yellow; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-highlight: yellow;">Johnson</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></li>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #1f497d; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-themecolor: text2; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Bridget
Mary </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: yellow; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-highlight: yellow;">McCormack</span></b></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #1f497d; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-themecolor: text2; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: yellow; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-highlight: yellow;">******************************************************************</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></li>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span></ul>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><b><u><span style="color: red; font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Ballot Proposals:</span></u></b><u><span style="color: red; font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></u></span></div>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<ul type="disc"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #1f497d; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo3; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-themecolor: text2; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>"</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">NO</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">" on proposals </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: yellow; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-highlight: yellow;">1 and 5</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">.<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></li>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #1f497d; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo3; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-themecolor: text2; tab-stops: list .5in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"> </span></o:p></span></b></li>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo3; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text2;">"</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text2;">YES</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text2;">" on
proposals </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: yellow; color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-highlight: yellow; mso-themecolor: text2;">2 and 4</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text2;">.</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></li>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo3; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text2;">See
attached</span></u></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text2;"> for information on </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text2;">Proposal #3
and #6</span></b></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo3; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text2;">*****************************************************************</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></li>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span></ul>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><b><u><span style="color: red; font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Education Board Candidates:</span></u></b><u><span style="color: red; font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></u></span></div>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<ul type="disc"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #1f497d; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo4; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-themecolor: text2; tab-stops: list .5in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">State Board of Education – <o:p></o:p></span></span></b></li>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #1f497d; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo4; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-themecolor: text2; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: yellow; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-highlight: yellow;">Michelle Fecteau</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: yellow; font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-highlight: yellow;"> <u>and</u> </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: yellow; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-highlight: yellow;">Lupe Ramos-Montigny</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></li>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #1f497d; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo4; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-themecolor: text2; tab-stops: list .5in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"> </span></o:p></span></b></li>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #1f497d; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo4; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-themecolor: text2; tab-stops: list .5in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">MSU Board of Trustees- <o:p></o:p></span></span></b></li>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #1f497d; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo4; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-themecolor: text2; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: yellow; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-highlight: yellow;">Joel Ferguson</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: yellow; font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-highlight: yellow;"> <u>and</u> </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: yellow; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-highlight: yellow;">Brian Mosallam</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: yellow; font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-highlight: yellow;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></li>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #1f497d; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo4; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-themecolor: text2; tab-stops: list .5in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"> </span></o:p></span></b></li>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #1f497d; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo4; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-themecolor: text2; tab-stops: list .5in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">U of M Board of Regents – <o:p></o:p></span></span></b></li>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #1f497d; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo4; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-themecolor: text2; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: yellow; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-highlight: yellow;">Mark Bernstein</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: yellow; font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-highlight: yellow;"> <u>and</u> </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: yellow; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-highlight: yellow;">Shauna Ryder Diggs</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: yellow; font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-highlight: yellow;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></li>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #1f497d; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo4; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-themecolor: text2; tab-stops: list .5in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"> </span></o:p></span></b></li>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #1f497d; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo4; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-themecolor: text2; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Wayne State Board of
Governors </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">– <o:p></o:p></span></b></span></li>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #1f497d; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo4; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-themecolor: text2; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: yellow; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-highlight: yellow;">Sandra Hughes O'Brien</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: yellow; font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-highlight: yellow;"> <u>and</u> </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: yellow; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-highlight: yellow;">Kim Trent</span></b></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #1f497d; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo4; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-themecolor: text2; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: yellow; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-highlight: yellow;">******************************************************************</span></b></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #1f497d; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo4; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-themecolor: text2; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: yellow; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-highlight: yellow;"></span></b></span></li>
</ul>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: yellow; color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-highlight: yellow; mso-themecolor: text2;">PROPOSAL<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>#3</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text2;">
– “25 by 2025” <u>Renewable Energy</u><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Corbel","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text2;"><span style="background-color: #ea9999;">Opposed by 180
organizations & individuals led by Consumers Power and DTE including Farm
Bureau, Michigan Chamber of Commerce and Michigan Manufacturers Association.
Neither political Party has taken a position on this question.<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #ea9999;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; mso-themecolor: text2;">OPPONENTS say :</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Corbel","sans-serif"; mso-themecolor: text2;"> this is “radical” and would make Michigan the only state
to mandate a renewable energy standard … natural gas & coal prices are at
an all time low …of 1,200 coal fired jobs, 300-350 could be lost by 2017 …
Opposed by AMWAY and western Michigan groups.<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; mso-themecolor: text2;"><span style="background-color: #f1c232;">PROPONENTS say :<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<span style="background-color: #f1c232;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Corbel","sans-serif"; mso-themecolor: text2;"><span style="background-color: #f1c232;">25% of state’s energy would come through renewable energy
by 2025 … would limit rate increases to a maximum of 1% per year while
producing power from wind, solar, biomass and hydro power … wind and solar
create manufacturing , installation & maintenance jobs …renewable energy is
good for the environment … Does not contribute to global warming …MSU study
says it will create thousands of jobs and generate $10.3 billion in new
investments … would lower mfg. costs … supported by UAW, state and national
environmental groups.<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: yellow; color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-highlight: yellow; mso-themecolor: text2;">A “<u>YES</u>”
vote is recommended.</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: yellow; color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-highlight: yellow; mso-themecolor: text2;"></span></b></span> </div>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text2;"><span style="background-color: yellow;">PROPOSAL #1 <u>EMERGENCY MANAGER ACT</u><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Corbel","sans-serif"; mso-themecolor: text2;"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">The measure will ask voters if they want to approve
PUBLIC ACT 4 of 2011, the state’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>revised</u>
</i>emergency manager law.<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; mso-themecolor: text2;"><span style="background-color: #f1c232;">Opponents say that the law usurps the votes and
democratic process in affected communities by imposing managers with
dictatorial power paid at exhorbatant salaries.<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<span style="background-color: #b6d7a8;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; mso-themecolor: text2;"><span style="background-color: #ea9999;">The Republican party recommends a “YES” vote.<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: yellow; color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; mso-highlight: yellow; mso-themecolor: text2;">The Democratic
Party and the UAW recommends a “</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="background: yellow; color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-highlight: yellow; mso-themecolor: text2;">NO</span></u></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: yellow; color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; mso-highlight: yellow; mso-themecolor: text2;">”
vote.<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: yellow; color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; mso-highlight: yellow; mso-themecolor: text2;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A “NO” vote will repeal the law.</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; mso-themecolor: text2;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; mso-themecolor: text2;"><o:p><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"> </span></o:p></span></b></div>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text2;"><span style="background-color: yellow;">PROPOSAL # 2 Guarantee Right to
Collectively Bargain<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Corbel","sans-serif"; mso-themecolor: text2;"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="background-color: #f1c232;"><strong>This is a union backed measure that
guarantees <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>collective bargaining rights
in the state Constitution and repeals some anti-union laws already in place.</strong></span> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #b6d7a8;"><span style="background: yellow; color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; mso-highlight: yellow; mso-themecolor: text2;">Supported
by UAW & Democratic Party</span><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; mso-themecolor: text2;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Corbel","sans-serif"; mso-themecolor: text2;"><span style="background-color: #ea9999;"><strong>Opposed by Republican Party<o:p></o:p></strong></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="background: yellow; color: #1f497d; font-family: "Corbel","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-highlight: yellow; mso-themecolor: text2;">A “</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="background: yellow; color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-highlight: yellow; mso-themecolor: text2;">YES</span></u></b><span style="background: yellow; color: #1f497d; font-family: "Corbel","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-highlight: yellow; mso-themecolor: text2;">”
vote is recommended</span></span><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Corbel","sans-serif"; mso-no-proof: yes; mso-themecolor: text2;"></span><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Corbel","sans-serif"; mso-themecolor: text2;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text2;"><o:p><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: yellow;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text2;">PROPOSAL # 4 </span><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Corbel","sans-serif"; mso-themecolor: text2;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Establish Michigan Quality Home Care Council
& provide for collective<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Corbel","sans-serif"; mso-themecolor: text2;"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> <strong> Collective </strong></span><strong>bargaining
for in-home care workers.<o:p></o:p></strong></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Corbel","sans-serif"; mso-themecolor: text2;"><o:p><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="background: yellow; color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; mso-highlight: yellow; mso-themecolor: text2;">Backed
by UAW & Democratic Party</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; mso-themecolor: text2;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Corbel","sans-serif"; mso-themecolor: text2;"><span style="background-color: #ea9999;">Opposed by Republican Party<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Corbel","sans-serif"; mso-themecolor: text2;"><o:p><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="background: yellow; color: #1f497d; font-family: "Corbel","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-highlight: yellow; mso-themecolor: text2;">A “</span><u><span style="background: yellow; color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-highlight: yellow; mso-themecolor: text2;">YES</span></u><span style="background: yellow; color: #1f497d; font-family: "Corbel","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-highlight: yellow; mso-themecolor: text2;">”
vote is recommended</span><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Corbel","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text2;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Corbel","sans-serif"; mso-themecolor: text2;"><o:p><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Corbel","sans-serif"; mso-themecolor: text2;"><o:p><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: yellow;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text2;">PROPOSAL# 5</span><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Corbel","sans-serif"; mso-themecolor: text2;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text2;">Require 2/3 vote to raise taxes<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Corbel","sans-serif"; mso-themecolor: text2;"><span style="background-color: #e69138;"><strong>Would change voting rules of the Michigan
House & Senate and state wide referendum questions concerning taxes,
requiring 2/3 majority.<o:p></o:p></strong></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Corbel","sans-serif"; mso-themecolor: text2;"><o:p><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Corbel","sans-serif"; mso-themecolor: text2;"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><strong>Republicans have not taken a position on
this question.<o:p></o:p></strong></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Corbel","sans-serif"; mso-themecolor: text2;"><strong><span style="background-color: yellow;">Opposed by UAW & Democratic Party.<o:p></o:p></span></strong></span></div>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Corbel","sans-serif"; mso-themecolor: text2;"><o:p><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Corbel","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text2;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="background: yellow; mso-highlight: yellow;">A “</span></span><u><span style="background: yellow; color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-highlight: yellow; mso-themecolor: text2;">NO</span></u><span style="background: yellow; color: #1f497d; font-family: "Corbel","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-highlight: yellow; mso-themecolor: text2;">”
vote is recommended.</span><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Corbel","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text2;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Corbel","sans-serif"; mso-themecolor: text2;"><o:p><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"> </span></o:p></span><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Corbel","sans-serif"; mso-themecolor: text2;"><o:p><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Corbel","sans-serif"; mso-themecolor: text2;"><o:p><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: yellow;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text2;">PROPOSAL # 6</span><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Corbel","sans-serif"; mso-themecolor: text2;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Corbel","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text2;">Require vote of the people on all
international bridge projects</span></b><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Corbel","sans-serif"; mso-themecolor: text2;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Corbel","sans-serif"; mso-themecolor: text2;"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><strong>Would require a vote of the people ( a
referendum ) to approve any state spending on any international bridge
projects.</strong> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #ea9999;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: yellow; font-family: "Corbel","sans-serif"; mso-highlight: yellow;">Note : Governor Snyder has said he </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: yellow; font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; mso-highlight: yellow;"><u>WILL</u></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: yellow; font-family: "Corbel","sans-serif"; mso-highlight: yellow;"> enter into an agreement with Canada to build a new
bridge. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">There is a chance that Michigan
could end up paying for it</i> ).</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Corbel","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Corbel","sans-serif"; mso-themecolor: text2;"><strong><span style="background-color: #e69138;">The UAW, Democrats & Republicans did
not take a position on this.<o:p></o:p></span></strong></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Corbel","sans-serif"; mso-themecolor: text2;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
Alcona at Hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322731050301345116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5261115024089816718.post-16822175575491843232012-09-13T22:34:00.000-04:002012-09-13T22:34:20.840-04:00The Alcona County Democratic Party Headquarters in Harrisville is up and running !!<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span></span><span></span><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><style></style><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Arial;"><span style="background-color: yellow; color: #073763;">The <strong><u>Alcona County Democratic Party Headquarters</u></strong> in Harrisville is up and running</span>. We've had two or three people every day stop in and get signs. If you can help keep the headquarters open, it will be much appreciated.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: yellow; font-family: Arial;">200 N. State St. - 100 yards north of the stop light at 23 & 72.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: yellow; font-family: Arial;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: #073763;">We now have new <strong><span style="background-color: yellow;">2012 Obama signs and a good number of Stabenow signs and bumper stickers.</span></strong></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<strong><span style="background-color: yellow; color: #073763; font-family: Arial;"></span></strong> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763;"> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: #073763;"><u>Don't forget</u>:<strong><span style="background-color: yellow;"> The <u>GRAND OPENING</u> is this Saturday. At 2:00.</span></strong></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Arial;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: #073763;"><span style="background-color: yellow;"><strong> 1st Congressional District Candidate Gary McDowell</strong> will be there and later in the day, <strong>Ken Hubbard</strong> will stop by.</span> Spread the word and be sure to come by and meet and greet your fellow Democrats. This is our chance to dispel the myth that Republicans rule in Alcona. Not anymore. We are here, in good cheer, and this <strong><u>IS</u></strong> our year.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763;"> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #073763; font-family: Arial;">Feel free to call me with questions or if you need something.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: yellow; color: #073763; font-family: Arial;">Paul Peterson</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: yellow; color: #073763; font-family: Arial;">989-657-0446</span></div>
Alcona at Hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322731050301345116noreply@blogger.com0