A new site has entered the blogosphere called East Michigan Blue. I will spend the majority of my time on the clock as a blogger with EMB. I will still post here occasionally when I have something out of left field I feel like sharing that doesn't necessarily fit the purpose of EMB. So hopefully it won't die because its my pet, but then again pets have short life spans.
Everyone's talking about the new Batman movie, The Dark Knight, but I'm not a fan of scary movies. I prefer the Black Knight...
A certain former mayor has been putting up yard signs for a relatively unpopular candidate for State Representative throughout Saginaw. Since this blog is somewhat dedicated to the disgraceful memory of said former mayor, I decided to post this entry from what appears to be a blog entry on a site called wizznutzz, written by her son, basketball player Darvin Ham.
One, I brought my mother there for fresh air and powdered wombat bone so she can convalesce and get away from the pressure of her upcoming trial aka the "Burning Ma"am" Festival, for torching her 86 Benzo for insurance dimes. We hope to get the Judge Who Cried from the case of Anna Nicole Smith v. The Darkness trial. He seems a a fair man and would understand that just because my mom, Former Saginaw Mayor Wilmer Jones Ham, fled from police in a white pinto with her best friend Altamese Allen is not sign of guilt but of normal flight mechanism of scared animals. I know people want to turn my mom into power crazed "Lady Macbeth" but stubborn stains do not equal madness, even bacon stains. But Im no Rod Strickland. I knows a bum beef when I sees one. I am committing my times to hunting down the "real" firebugs: Cecil A. Collins Jr. and Handyman Jerry W. Wilkins. Hey JDubs, there aint nothing "Handy" about passing out drunk in the bosses backseat with a can of gas and a lit Newport. And then There are so many natural ways a ladys car can catch alight. Saginaw as u know has bad problem with Mexican possums and fire is only way to burn those buggers out when they take nest in your car. Plus have u seen what kind of Guy Fawkes pyrotechnics happen when a unattended hair iron is left on around a plastic salad bowl full of week-old Dudley's Salon Control Gel Activator????
I talked to another person today who asked for literature about Barack Obama. He said Obama talks alot, but he "isn't saying anything." He said he hasn't heard a politician talk about "the poor" in a while. Obviously he doesn't realize that politicians use rhetoric like "working class" and "less fortunate" because of the negative connotation of the word "poor." According to Republicans, if you are poor it means you are lazy. If one considers lazy and apathetic to be interchangable, then I guess it makes sense for the guy to ask why politicians are not pandering to "the poor."
Instead of going out and enjoying the beginning of their weekends like normal people, legislators chose to stay in session late Friday night and early Saturday morning contemplating ways to cut more revenue from public schools. These late night cram sessions seem to be quite effective, almost like pulling an all-nighter in college the day before a test. You'd think they would have learned their lesson years ago.
To be fair, state universities SVSU, Delta, and CMU will still see 1% funding increases, but it falls 2% short of expectations and could lead to increased tuition once again for students.
Funding for K-12 is yet to be determined.
Republicans are reluctant to to get on board with the Governor's plan to establish 100 new high schools with the intent of having smaller class sizes and decreasing drop-out rates. It's further proof that Republicans don't consider public education a priority.
I guess the good news is that legislators are close to an agreement over a budget, so maybe they did learn something afterall.
We all know about the housing crisis facing local communities in Michigan, so its good to know that some people are at least trying to do something about it...
The House Banking and Financial Services committee passed a package of bills yesterday that would require lenders to make sure loans benefitted borrowers.
According to MIRS, the pro-consumer bills "require loan agencies to assess whether the loan will be 'reasonably advantageous' to the borrower, mandates use of an automatic underwriting system, and prohibits falsifying or misrepresenting a borrower's credit history or income."
Area Representatives Andy Coulouris (D-Saginaw) and Jeff Mayes(D-Bay City), along with two other Democrats and one Republican, voted for the package, while 3 Republicans committee members did not support it.
Meanwhile, MLive reported yesterday that the city of Saginaw receive funds from the Michigan Housing Development Authority's Cities of Promise initiative to tear down an estimated 297 vacant homes. Last year 187 homes Saginaw homes were demolished.
Now if only we could figure out what to build to replace these vacant and demolished houses (instead of half-way houses and empty parking lots).
After watching the live stream of Obama's appearance in Detroit last night, I surfed (suffered?) through several of the the cable news network programs last night. Like a bystander of an auto accident, the lust of my eyes couldn't help but stop for a few moments on FOX News to see what they had to say about Gore endorsing Obama.
Sean Hannity and Karl Rove (has anyone noticed how bad Rove is on TV?) criticized Obama's decision to unveil Al in Michigan. They said that Gore doesn't play well in Michigan and that talking about environmental issues would backfire since Michigan depended so much on the auto industry.
Clearly, neither of these numbskulls knows anything about our state nor did they watch the entire event. Jennifer Granholm spent most of her time on stage talking about how Michiganians will transform the economy and lead the way in developing, researching, and producing alternative energy technology. They also don't realize that people in Michigan care about the environment. Spending time outdoors is the favorite past time of our residents, whether they are hunting, going to the beach, or whatever. We especially care about taking care of our great lakes, the best natural resource a state could ask for.
There was a clear theme to Obama's event last night, and, more importantly, it was the second key endorsement in Michigan to receive the national spotlight.
