Who needs Denver when we've got Detroit?

There's a big shindig in Denver at the Inesco Stadium tonight. It involves a speech and a Greek temple facade with lots of lights, pretty pictures, Sheryl Crow and Stevie Wonder...but why would you watch that when you could read about the big Democratic smackdown here in Michigan?

There aren't any jaws falling open at this latest announcement because it's Kwame Kilpatrick's MO so far, but the Detroit News is reporting that Kwame's lawyers are going to court in the morning. Sharon McPhail hasn't been able to bully Granholm into delaying the hearing to remove Kilpatrick, so she's taken her marbles to Circuit Court Judge Robert Ziolkowski. You may have heard of him: he's the same judge who ruled that the city council has no authority to remove the mayor. Now McPhail is hoping he'll go over the blonde head of Jennifer Granholm and "stop the governor."

There's just not enough popcorn in Michigan for this show.

Recall Signatures Against Dillon (D) Restored?

I guess a federal judge agreed with those who signed petitions to recall Andy Dillon!

The Detroit Free Press reports (without whining, believe it or not):

Judge Robert Holmes Bell, acting on a lawsuit filed by recall backers, said requiring recall petition circulators to live in the same district as the public official targeted for removal is too restrictive.

Now Dillon's constituents will get a chance to vote just how they feel about Dillon's golfing during last fall's budget crisis, his love of tax increases and his assertion that the facilities in Lansing are his.

Possible Future of the GOP

Next week will be busy for my family. Our son will move into the dorms of Spring Arbor University and our daughter begins her sophmore year at high school. Between getting them ready for school, the Labor Day weekend, switching internet and cell phone providers, local road construction and the other assorted nonsense that happens this time of year, I've got a couple things to smile about, namely our two CONSESRVATIVE kids.

Our son Kendrick, the "quiet" one, is going into rocket science and has his head on straight where liberal lunacy is concerned. He voted for the first time this year and will be a great voice in the "what works, what doesn't" department. It only makes sense, since he's going into rocket science, where failure is catastrophic.

Taryn, my 15-year old rabble-rouser, joined Joan and myself in letting Nancy Pelosi "know her failure" regarding the skyrocketing gas prices and her refusal to drill. As only one of two pro-life girls in her summer camp cabin -- the other one was an abortion survivor -- they managed to knock some sense and truth into the other campers. When I recently had a run-in with five month long trail of red tape at the social security office, Taryn found her own inspired rant. "And people want us to trust the government to run health care??" she spat. Like I said, she's a great kid.

As a responsible parent and natural-born US citizen, I believe I'm partially responsible to provide my country with conservative, smart, hard-working offspring who know how to think, a very rare skill in public schools these days. Conservative kids can have a loud voice just because they know their stuff and don't vote based on how they feel.

They've done us proud.

Three Words For The Press: I Don't Care!

Just before Dr. Richard Kimball in "The Fugitive" did a swan dive over a waterfall, he stood face-to-face with Sam Gerard, the deputy marshall determined to catch him. "I didn't kill my wife," Kimball insisted.

Gerard's reply? "I don't care."

It was a cold and heartless answer, but Gerard gave the right one. His job wasn't to listen to Kimball's story, empathize and tell him everything would be all right: his job was to bring in a convicted felon who'd escaped. Nothing more.

If I had three words for the media regarding Barak Obama's skin tone, it would be Sam Gerard's same, cold words. I. Don't. Care. I don't care if Obama eats eggs or oatmeal for breakfast. I don't care if he smokes or prefers beer to wine. I don't care if he's brown, orange, green or purple with yellow polka-dots. The last time I checked, science hasn't found that skin cells to all our thinking in spite of what so-called special interest groups and Jesse Jackson would have us think. What I DO care about is how much he'd like to hike my taxes and deprive my family of their hard-earned wages, how his policies would cause the cost of gasoline to skyrocket even further, and what shady Rezko and Ayers-like characters he'd appoint to his cabinet and nominate to the US Supreme Court. Obama's race is nothing compared to his voting record (or lack thereof) and what he proposes to do with the power of a US presidency.

Do you hear me, NBC? How about you, ABC? How about you, CBS? Don't worry, NPR and NYT, I know better than to ask. When it comes to reflected light from Obama and Michelle and how my blue eyes perceive it, I only have one response:

I. Don't. Care.

Roaming ELF Gets Vacation Before Jail Time

What will admitting to setting a fire at MSU that caused $1 million in damage, torching $18,000 in logging equipment in northern MI, burning down family dream homes in Washtenaw and Macomb Townships PLUS other incidents of domestic terrorism get you?

If you're eco-terrorist Frank Ambrose, you get more than just a "get out of jail free" pass.

Lansing's WILX reports:

Ambrose has been free on bond since charges were filed in March, but he's been restricted to Michigan unless he gets the court's approval. He attended a family wedding in Pennsylvania in May and traveled to Illinois in June to install a wood floor at his sister's home.

Apparently the prosecutor's office must really think the guy's not a flight risk, because Firebug Frank is headed for Tybee Island, Georgia, for a family vacation.

The Detroit man's parents rented a cottage "for the purpose of assembling the entire family in a relaxed vacation setting" ahead of the Sept. 22 hearing, defense attorney Michael Brady said in a court filing.

Maybe Kwame Kilpatrick should fire Sharon McPhail and his other attorneys and see if Michael Brady, the attorney for Ambrose, is willing to accept another client. Then he'd get to go to that big party in Denver for sure!

Free Market Helping, Government Hindering

I didn't intend to take so long between updates, but between dumping a cup of coffee into my desktop computer and trouble with my internet access, technology has been a pain in the rear the last few weeks.

The coffee was my fault. I'm a klutz. The lack of internet? I don't share all the blame.

I'm rural. Our home is in a pretty little corner of the Waterloo State Park on two acres. My neighbors are nice but keep to themselves and everybody likes it that way. One of the problems of living rural, however, is the lack of competition when it comes to ISP's. When we moved out here three years ago we had two choices: dialup (ugh) and satellite.

My, how things are changing, and all with the help of private companies.

Verizon figured out there was a market they hadn't tapped. So did Alltel before Verizon decided to "merge" with them, which will happen later this year. There's a new WiMAX serivce to our north thinking about expansion, and I doubt any of them are receiving the benefit of Al Gore's "Universal Service Fee." You know, the one we all pay on phone lines to allegedly provide landline telephone service -- an increasingly archaic technology -- to rural areas.

Next week if all goes as planned, we'll be switching over to Alltel's wireless internet service. It'll be a wonderful improvement over the expensive, latency-plagued and bandwith-limited satellite ISP we're using now. My blog will be updated on a more frequent schedule and all without the help of Washington DC. Now if they'd just stop charging the USF on wireless internet, all would be right with the world.

Schauer: "Finding a Way" to Violate the MI Constitution

I have a dog in the oncoming fight between Mark Schauer and current Representative Tim Walberg of the 7th District. Schauer wants the job, but the lengths to which he'll go to get it are disturbing. His latest proposal is to hike the royalties oil and gas companies would pay to Michigan. Currently they pay one-sixth of the gross proceeds if natural gas or oil comes from land where the state owns the mineral rights. Schauer wants to jack it up to half.

How does this violate the state Constitution?

Michigan's royalties from oil and gas development go to the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund, which buys land for public recreation. The fund's purpose is spelled out in the state constitution. Schauer said he's confident the Legislature can find a way to spend money from higher royalties to help develop clean and renewable energy.

Schauer wants the legislature to "find a way" to break the law and deny the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund revenue that it was constitutionally promised. In other words, let the legislature do the dirty work and keep his hands clean for the election. If he's willing to violate what the state founders set in stone on this issue, why should he stop there?

This is another great reason to re-elect Tim Walberg.