The Michigan Wolverines will be holding their spring practice scrimage at Saline High School.
As a result of the Michigan spring camp thus far, Saline will be favored to win by 3 at home.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Monday, March 17, 2008
Hail to Victims!
The crisis over a "do-over" Democratic primary in Michigan badly exposes a Democratic party tied to victimology over ideology. Three specific forms of this error led to this comical collision that may yet end with a mid-November political cartoon of two skeletons in a pit -- Clinton and Obama -- with hands grasped around one another's throats.
It is astonishing to realize that a party that could shake itself of just one of the following would have avoided this problem entirely...
1. THE PROPORTIONAL DELEGATE SYSTEM
How long would the Republican primaries have raged on if so many states had not been "winner take all," allowing McCain to walk away with boatloads of delegates in several important states while not winning a majority of the vote? Crafted so that a niche candidate with a small following (read: Jesse Jackson) can "win" lots of delegates without actually winning any states, the far different Democrat system made this "Battle of Stalingrad" primary between nearly equally matched opponents a train wreck waiting to happen.
2. WOMEN VS. AFRICAN AMERICANS
If a GOP Presidential Primary boiled down to Colin Powell v. Candice Miller, it would not divide along factions of older women Republicans vs. minority Republicans. Even a primary with decidedly religious right candidate, and those who were not, couldn't -- in the end -- fracture the Republicans.
Not so with Democrats, whose tribal-coalition politics virtually assured that this profoundly unlikely battle between nearly equally matched black and female candidates would devolve to a circus act whereby has-been identity politicians from yesteryear such as Geraldine Ferraro could seize a moment in the center ring and further force the clowns to choose up sides.
3. THE EARLY PRIMARY GANGSTERS
Every four years, like mafia dons, Iowa and New Hampshire have coerced the candidates in both parties to kiss the rings of their "first in the nation" monopoly on kicking off the presidential selection process. This year, Nevada and South Carolina joined the collusion and got both parties to sign off on a silly "nobody else goes before Feb. 5" rule.
By stripping "cheaters" like Michigan and Florida of only half of their delegates, the RNC assured that both states would get real campaigns from the major competitors and thus little reason for griping from losers. It was a clear wink and nod to all involved that Iowa and New Hampshire were being listened to, but that their childish demands were not respected in any meaningful way.
Not so with Democrats. The slavish surrender to identity politics that created the porportional delegate system, and made the women voters v. black voters schism possible, also drove them to fall completely on their swords when the "Early Primary Mafia" demanded its own form of tribute.
A perfect storm entirely of their own making, derived exclusively from the victim politics that holds the party together.
It is astonishing to realize that a party that could shake itself of just one of the following would have avoided this problem entirely...
1. THE PROPORTIONAL DELEGATE SYSTEM
How long would the Republican primaries have raged on if so many states had not been "winner take all," allowing McCain to walk away with boatloads of delegates in several important states while not winning a majority of the vote? Crafted so that a niche candidate with a small following (read: Jesse Jackson) can "win" lots of delegates without actually winning any states, the far different Democrat system made this "Battle of Stalingrad" primary between nearly equally matched opponents a train wreck waiting to happen.
2. WOMEN VS. AFRICAN AMERICANS
If a GOP Presidential Primary boiled down to Colin Powell v. Candice Miller, it would not divide along factions of older women Republicans vs. minority Republicans. Even a primary with decidedly religious right candidate, and those who were not, couldn't -- in the end -- fracture the Republicans.
Not so with Democrats, whose tribal-coalition politics virtually assured that this profoundly unlikely battle between nearly equally matched black and female candidates would devolve to a circus act whereby has-been identity politicians from yesteryear such as Geraldine Ferraro could seize a moment in the center ring and further force the clowns to choose up sides.
3. THE EARLY PRIMARY GANGSTERS
Every four years, like mafia dons, Iowa and New Hampshire have coerced the candidates in both parties to kiss the rings of their "first in the nation" monopoly on kicking off the presidential selection process. This year, Nevada and South Carolina joined the collusion and got both parties to sign off on a silly "nobody else goes before Feb. 5" rule.
By stripping "cheaters" like Michigan and Florida of only half of their delegates, the RNC assured that both states would get real campaigns from the major competitors and thus little reason for griping from losers. It was a clear wink and nod to all involved that Iowa and New Hampshire were being listened to, but that their childish demands were not respected in any meaningful way.
Not so with Democrats. The slavish surrender to identity politics that created the porportional delegate system, and made the women voters v. black voters schism possible, also drove them to fall completely on their swords when the "Early Primary Mafia" demanded its own form of tribute.
A perfect storm entirely of their own making, derived exclusively from the victim politics that holds the party together.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Bush Will Not Seek Third Term!
What if you spent eighteen months of a presidential campaign running against an opponent who wasn't going to be on the ballot? I've had that thought burrowing through my brain as I've watched the Democratic presidential candidate primary debates and rhetoric over the last year. It was George Bush messed up this, and messed up that, and it takes a Clinton to clean up after a Bush, and we need change, and ... etc...
But with still no certain Democratic nominee, and less than eight months to the election, the hyper-Lefties over at the American Prospect have veered dangerously close to the startling realization that George Bush may in fact NOT be on the ballot when they need him...
As much as Democrats love their two candidates, the really animating issue is getting rid of Bush, and they are completely open on how, and evenly divided on with whom. Without Bush-loathing as the organizing principle of their unity, Democrats could find themselves on shaky ground: the party's old personality disorders may begin to resurface.
But with still no certain Democratic nominee, and less than eight months to the election, the hyper-Lefties over at the American Prospect have veered dangerously close to the startling realization that George Bush may in fact NOT be on the ballot when they need him...
As much as Democrats love their two candidates, the really animating issue is getting rid of Bush, and they are completely open on how, and evenly divided on with whom. Without Bush-loathing as the organizing principle of their unity, Democrats could find themselves on shaky ground: the party's old personality disorders may begin to resurface.
It's been 40 years since neither a sitting President, nor his VP, was on the ballot. And even then, the Democrats were tearing themselves apart running against the guy who wasn't running -- in that case one of their own, President Lyndon Johnson.
Campus Activism
Two stories in two different state university campus newspapers this week create quite a contrast regarding the future of conversations about race on Michigan university campuses.
First, there is The South End, the Wayne State University paper telling on Wednesday about the plight of the on-campus NAACP chapter...
...at the chapter's NAACP 99th Birthday Celebration, . . . empty seats outnumbered occupied ones.
[of] The chapter's 30 paying members, fewer than 10 showed up for the Feb. 12 event. This pattern has been common. ... on average, four or five members attend the organization's regular bi-weekly meetings.
And on it went, details of how a nearly century-old, brand-name civil rights movement, on a large public university campus, in the middle of a large and overwhelmingly black city, struggles to muster even a handful of regulars who care enough to attend a regular meeting.
But five days later in Ann Arbor, a slightly different story is told by the Michigan Daily...
Ward Connerly, the outspoken affirmative action critic who helped set legislation in motion that banned affirmative action in the state of Michigan, spoke at the Law School this weekend. A crowd of about 250 students, activists and professors gathered in Hutchins Hall Saturday morning to hear Connerly speak on a panel that also included University Law Prof. Sherman Clark and Yeshiva University Law Prof. Marci Hamilton.
So, there's still a lot of people willing to get up on a Saturday morning and listen to differing views on how to advance race relations. It's just that the NAACP doesn't seem to have a seat at the table -- the article makes zero mention of the NAACP involvement in this event.
But the paper mentions another group that did demand a seat at the table...
About 20 members of By Any Means Necessary, a pro-affirmative action group, protested outside before the event. As Connerly began his opening remarks, some of those members interrupted... by shouting over him.
And also...
During the question and answer session that followed the panel discussion, BAMN members repeatedly asked questions and occupied the microphone lines to speak. BAMN coordinator Neil Lyons called Connerly a fraud and a liar.
Which resulted in this...
As the noise escalated during Connerly's remarks, the auditorium lights flickered briefly and BAMN members' microphones were turned on and off in an attempt to settle BAMN and the rest of the crowd.
So, where does one find 20 or so hijackers to take control of an otherwise civil and well attended debate on race relations at the University of Michigan?
Answer...
"You can't argue racism and racist policy in public and get away with it!" yelled Joyce Schon, a second-year law student at Wayne State University and a BAMN organizer, from her seat.
Joyce obviously has enough time to take a break from her law studies and organize her rabble full of ruffians and roadtrip to Ann Arbor. But I somehow bet she doesn't make the time to attend those NAACP meetings right in her own back yard.
First, there is The South End, the Wayne State University paper telling on Wednesday about the plight of the on-campus NAACP chapter...
...at the chapter's NAACP 99th Birthday Celebration, . . . empty seats outnumbered occupied ones.
[of] The chapter's 30 paying members, fewer than 10 showed up for the Feb. 12 event. This pattern has been common. ... on average, four or five members attend the organization's regular bi-weekly meetings.
And on it went, details of how a nearly century-old, brand-name civil rights movement, on a large public university campus, in the middle of a large and overwhelmingly black city, struggles to muster even a handful of regulars who care enough to attend a regular meeting.
But five days later in Ann Arbor, a slightly different story is told by the Michigan Daily...
Ward Connerly, the outspoken affirmative action critic who helped set legislation in motion that banned affirmative action in the state of Michigan, spoke at the Law School this weekend. A crowd of about 250 students, activists and professors gathered in Hutchins Hall Saturday morning to hear Connerly speak on a panel that also included University Law Prof. Sherman Clark and Yeshiva University Law Prof. Marci Hamilton.
So, there's still a lot of people willing to get up on a Saturday morning and listen to differing views on how to advance race relations. It's just that the NAACP doesn't seem to have a seat at the table -- the article makes zero mention of the NAACP involvement in this event.
But the paper mentions another group that did demand a seat at the table...
About 20 members of By Any Means Necessary, a pro-affirmative action group, protested outside before the event. As Connerly began his opening remarks, some of those members interrupted... by shouting over him.
And also...
During the question and answer session that followed the panel discussion, BAMN members repeatedly asked questions and occupied the microphone lines to speak. BAMN coordinator Neil Lyons called Connerly a fraud and a liar.
Which resulted in this...
As the noise escalated during Connerly's remarks, the auditorium lights flickered briefly and BAMN members' microphones were turned on and off in an attempt to settle BAMN and the rest of the crowd.
So, where does one find 20 or so hijackers to take control of an otherwise civil and well attended debate on race relations at the University of Michigan?
Answer...
"You can't argue racism and racist policy in public and get away with it!" yelled Joyce Schon, a second-year law student at Wayne State University and a BAMN organizer, from her seat.
Joyce obviously has enough time to take a break from her law studies and organize her rabble full of ruffians and roadtrip to Ann Arbor. But I somehow bet she doesn't make the time to attend those NAACP meetings right in her own back yard.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
More Honorable Democrats?
This morning's Detroit News brings word that some Detroit City Councilmembers are going to take a tough stand against the mayor following the text message scandal...
Last week, the city council decided to postpone a decision asking the mayor to resign. The mayor will give his state of the city address on Tuesday, and several council members said they will shun the mayor by refusing to sit behind him on stage in Orchestra Hall when he gives his speech.
Compare to another Democratic politician who got caught in a sex scandal, which led to perjury, and then to calls for his removal from office, and then him using the powers of his office to trash the reputations of innocent people caught up in the scandals of his making.
I don't recall the Democrats of the day standing up to the situation and shunning the bad boy. Maybe Detroit politicians are just that much more honorable.
Last week, the city council decided to postpone a decision asking the mayor to resign. The mayor will give his state of the city address on Tuesday, and several council members said they will shun the mayor by refusing to sit behind him on stage in Orchestra Hall when he gives his speech.
Compare to another Democratic politician who got caught in a sex scandal, which led to perjury, and then to calls for his removal from office, and then him using the powers of his office to trash the reputations of innocent people caught up in the scandals of his making.
I don't recall the Democrats of the day standing up to the situation and shunning the bad boy. Maybe Detroit politicians are just that much more honorable.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Cushy Council Jobs
The Detroit News editorial page is all knotted up over Detroit City Council member Monica Conyers using $12,000 from her taxpayer-financed office allotment so as to send her former chief of staff to Lisbon and Hong Kong for what was supposed to have been legitimate city business regarding pension funds [insert Teamsters joke here].
Okay, yes, that's stinky and suspicious. But the News' fixation on this particular little tree sends them whizzing past a towering forest of taxpayer waste with barely a raised eyebrow. The article does do a drive-by on facts regarding the big picture, but fails to tie it together...
...council members' own office accounts have few restrictions on spending. Council members are allocated $650,000 to spend pretty much as they wish on running their offices.
What's missing?
That $650,000 office allotment is about SIX TIMES larger than what the average member of the Michigan House of Representatives gets for the same purpose -- paying the bills of running their legislative office. And it's also noteworthy to point out that Michigan lawmakers are the second highest paid in America, while Detroit is one of the poorest big cities in the nation.
So, yeah, $12,000 to send the help on a world tour is one bad cough from a patient that's been hacking for years. Ten council members getting at least a half million each more than than they need every year is the pneumonia in plain sight that the Detroit News is ignoring.
Okay, yes, that's stinky and suspicious. But the News' fixation on this particular little tree sends them whizzing past a towering forest of taxpayer waste with barely a raised eyebrow. The article does do a drive-by on facts regarding the big picture, but fails to tie it together...
...council members' own office accounts have few restrictions on spending. Council members are allocated $650,000 to spend pretty much as they wish on running their offices.
What's missing?
That $650,000 office allotment is about SIX TIMES larger than what the average member of the Michigan House of Representatives gets for the same purpose -- paying the bills of running their legislative office. And it's also noteworthy to point out that Michigan lawmakers are the second highest paid in America, while Detroit is one of the poorest big cities in the nation.
So, yeah, $12,000 to send the help on a world tour is one bad cough from a patient that's been hacking for years. Ten council members getting at least a half million each more than than they need every year is the pneumonia in plain sight that the Detroit News is ignoring.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
The Postman Never Rings Twice
Another postman was busted for keeping mail at his house and not delivering it. This one had 300 tubs of mail with more than 16,000 letters in his Southfield, MI, home. The Detroit News says it dates back to 2002...
"According to the caller, the mail dated back to 2002 and consisted of mail from the Michigan Department of Treasury, child support, tax returns, utility bills and magazines," the affidavit said.
The mailman in question has had the same route for 16 years. How does one get away with not delivering so much mail to the people on that route for five of those years? The nature of the neighborhood may provide a clue:
Affected households are in Detroit's 48208 ZIP code, in an area just west of Wayne State University, near the intersection of I-94 and the Lodge Freeway.
...
Much of the undelivered mail was third-class mail and mail addressed to vacant homes, said Ed Moore, a postal spokesman in Detroit. Letter carriers are supposed to return any undelivered mail to the post office, not take it home, he said.
If a letter falls in an empty city, apparently it doesn't make a sound.
"According to the caller, the mail dated back to 2002 and consisted of mail from the Michigan Department of Treasury, child support, tax returns, utility bills and magazines," the affidavit said.
The mailman in question has had the same route for 16 years. How does one get away with not delivering so much mail to the people on that route for five of those years? The nature of the neighborhood may provide a clue:
Affected households are in Detroit's 48208 ZIP code, in an area just west of Wayne State University, near the intersection of I-94 and the Lodge Freeway.
...
Much of the undelivered mail was third-class mail and mail addressed to vacant homes, said Ed Moore, a postal spokesman in Detroit. Letter carriers are supposed to return any undelivered mail to the post office, not take it home, he said.
If a letter falls in an empty city, apparently it doesn't make a sound.
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