COUNSELING DEGREE: To counsel gays or not...do I have to?

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Some time ago I wrote about a student at Eastern Michigan University that sued the university because the school kicked her off their COUNSELING program when she refused to counsel gays due to her deeply held religious beliefs. At the time, our Republican attorney general joined her suit in support against the university.

I stated then that the MICHIGAN attorney general has no place in filing a friend of the court motion because he represents the citizens of Michigan and the suit is between a student and her university but he just could not keep his religious and political nose out of the case.

In 2010 a federal judge ruled for the university which claimed the student did not fulfill her curricular requirements and for not following the American Counseling Association’s code of ethics. She is appealing, egged on by the religious right no doubt.

I stated then that I have a friend that is deeply religious and also would not counsel gays among others BUT she attended a religious school that gave her a degree in counseling and did not require her to counsel gays as part of her graduation requirement.

I feel that any student that enrolls in a graduate program that clearly states what is required for graduation MUST follow those stated requirements or leave the program without a degree. Since the university clearly states what is required for graduation and all students are aware of those requirements, the university can toss the student out when those requirements are not met…duh.

BUT NOW, a Michigan Democratic state senator (Tupac Hunter) has introduced a bill in the Michigan Senate that would allow counseling students to decline to counsel gays based on their religious beliefs or moral convictions. Hunter was asked if students can decline to counsel blacks because it is somehow against their principles? Hunter, who is black, did not see the connection...

Here I state again that if you are so bloody religious, you should go to a religious school to get your diploma in counseling; plain and simple instead of balking at actions you knew were required by the university.

I think counseling is an important field that benefits many individuals that desperately need help in managing their lives; I have known people that benefited from wise counseling but of course I know people that received bad counseling and for this reason, I feel a strong program curriculum is paramount in creating a good and effective counselor and I trust the school to know what is needed to produce such counselors.

I think politicians should stay the hell out of matters that don’t concern them but of course, state funding for universities is a big hammer to hold over a university’s head and so they must meekly comply or pay the price.

I knew we were going to have problems with Republicans in the state; we elected them to fix our finances but we should have known that their religious agenda was not going away and now even the Democrats are getting involved; they must feel most voters in Michigan are religious nuts and elect other religious nuts…

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PROPOSAL 2: ACLU wasted my money...no more...

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This Sunday’s papers also drew many letters to the editor defending the ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals that found Michigan’s Proposal 2 (against affirmative action) unconstitutional.

The Detroit Free Press, a liberal paper, uncharacteristically came out against the ruling. I also decried the ruling based on the 14^th Amendment to the constitution, especially the “Equal Protection…” section.

Today’s letters help me understand better the basis of the ruling. The NAACP and the ACLU challenged the fact that the Proposal, passed by popular vote, was incorporated into the Michigan Constitution, which is basically impossible to overturn, especially for a minority.

Now hang in there with me as I try to understand this.  “The U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly explained that a state law is unconstitutional when it makes it more difficult for minority groups to achieve legislation that is in their best interest”.

So I suppose, if we did not write this into the Michigan Constitution but left it as a plain Michigan law, it would be constitutional?

Imran J. Syed of Canton argues that minority interests can never be protected via popular vote. If that was the case, Southern states would have never outlawed slavery or Jim Crow.

On the other hand, Raymond Dubin of Farmington Hills argues that Proposal 2 banned the use of racial and gender preferences related to public employment, public education and public contracting. If anything, it mandated that all Michigan citizens be treated fairly and equally.

Kary L. Moss, ACLU of Michigan, you cannot remove race from consideration in admissions, yet allow nonacademic factors such as geographical diversity, legacy status and athletics. I don’t think she understands that all those nonacademic factors apply to all applicants and not to only minorities or non-minorities.

I still think that discrimination is discrimination, whether against minorities or non-minorities, it should be against the law and affirmative action is discrimination against those it does not include in granting preference.

As I have mentioned before, the ACLU has lost my support over this because the money spent trying to find a loophole in the Constitution that would allow affirmative action to come back is not only a waste of donor (me) money but an attempt to blunt the will of the people in 2011 (not the same as 1865) who demand equality for all.

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• Michigan Proposal 2 (2006) Revisited... (jmszyszko.blogspot.com)
• Saving Affirmative Action from Itself (3quarksdaily.com)
• Governor files legal opinion against ban on affirmative action (latimesblogs.latimes.com)
• Sixth Circuit Strikes Down Michigan Civil Rights Initiative (volokh.com)
• Michigan constitutional amendment struck down because it tries to guarantee equality too much (whynotnashville.wordpress.com)
• Divided appeals court strikes down Michigan's affirmative action ban (paralegalsandiego.wordpress.com)
• Reversing discrimination (americanunion.wordpress.com)
• Michigan's Ban on Race in College Admission Ruled Illegal (theroot.com)
• Mich. ban on race in college admissions illegal (cbsnews.com)
• Court Rejects Michigan's Affirmative Action Ban (newser.com)

ATHEISTS: They have a need to advertise their message?

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A couple of weeks ago MITCH ALBOM, a respected writer for the Detroit Free Press devoted a whole column to the subject of atheist advertising. The column titled:” If God made the sky, can atheist fly it” and took atheists to task for flying banners advertising their message on the 4^th of July.

An example of one of their ads was a billboard shown in the paper where a smiling young man says “I can be good without God” and the sponsor is the Freedom From Religion Foundation.

Well Albom got an earful this Sunday from many letter writers including my favorite, Harry T. Cook; an Episcopalian Minister retired who champions religious “doubt”.

Harry reminds Albom that our Founders created a secular state because they knew full well the damage caused by institutional religions and their theologies to societies and nations and that is a fact that we forget today. He also reminded Albom that an atheist is a-theist i.e. one that cannot and will not confess belief in a deity of theism because NO DEPENDABLE DATA exist on which to base such a belief.

George Shiffer, American Atheists, Allen Park, talks about Albom’s complaint that the atheists are trying to shove their views down our throats. Excuse me; you don’t think Christians haven’t been shoving their shit down everybody’s throat like forever?

They forced “under God” into our pledge when the original Pledge did not contain that phrase thereby eliminating non-believers from “one nation indivisible”. They forced “In God We Trust” onto our money. They are forcing Bible study and the absurd Intelligent Design into our public schools and make no excuses for trying to force Christianity into our government and schools. What do you say to that Albom?

I have been following this trend of atheists, agnostics and plain humanists, trying to get their message out through advertising using the common channels for advertising; billboards, flying banners, etc.

I don’t totally understand this since those organizations are not trying to convince anyone about the myth that is institutional religion. I do think they maybe trying to reach people that are confused and don’t know that there are people who are not believers and that these people are good and positive members of society because they genuinely care about humanity and not because they want to find a good spot in the afterlife.

I have also seen ads basically saying “You are not alone with your doubt about God and religion”.

I have studied religion for many, many years and considered the study of religious doubt as something only scholars engaged in and discussions on the subject remained far away from the public view but I guess the time has come, or people feel the time has come, to break out into the open and engage the public.

Churches are obviously angry about efforts to sow doubt into paying parishioners but they have nothing to fear; the hard core religious are just that, hard core but reports are in,  saying that more and more people consider themselves agnostics if not full atheists, so maybe it is time to engage the public.

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• Mitch Albom Doesn't Get It (friendlyatheist.com)
• Christians Refuse To Fly Atheist Banners (hooglyboogly.co)
• Liberal Host Thom Hartmann Takes On Atheist Leader Over July 4th 'Evangelical' Campaign (mediaite.com)
• Priest Advocates Taking Up Intellectual Arms Against Advancing Atheist Horde (atheistrev.com)
• 5 Faulty Arguments Religious People Use Against Atheists (Debunked) (gretachristina.typepad.com)
• Atheist Billboard in Columbus, Ohio Taken Down After Church Complains (friendlyatheist.com)
• Ask an Atheist Answers (latinone.wordpress.com)
• A redefinition of "atheist" (whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com)

ECONOMY: Democrats need to stop looking to increase taxes...

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I think we all heard the poor jobless report and about unemployment inching back up to 9.2. Things are not looking so rosy for the economy or for Obama if he doesn’t change tactics and starts doing what is needed and not be playing his ideological games (socialism / unionism).

I have already mentioned how Obama will not sign free trade pacts with Korea, Panama and Columbia which will boost our exports and create jobs, without spending billions on a union retraining bill that has been proven to be expensive and ineffective.

I think we can all agree that tax loopholes for corporations should be closed; once closed it will produce extra revenue for the government.

Stop regulating the shit out of business. New regulations that will add expenses to existing businesses should be postponed. I think Congress has moved on this issue and so has the president but it is all talk at this point; no action.

The battle in Congress about raising the debt ceiling is pretty heated right now but I think it hinges on only one point; TAXES.

The Democrats insist on raising taxes on the rich to avoid cuts to their favorite domestic programs and the Republicans say NO NEW TAXES.

Here is the problem I have with adding new taxes in a down economy (depression); you cannot take money out of a down economy; FDR did it and he caused a depression within a depression. FDR also spent massive amounts of money on projects to create jobs and that did not work either as it is NOT WORKING NOW.

A normal person in financial difficulties CUTS HIS SPENDING. No more movies, restaurant dinners, expensive toys, vacations, whatever it takes to stabilize the situation. The government is not different. We have identified countless billions of dollars spent on programs that are just a waste of our money; cut them.

Democrats are making a big deal about not touching Social Security and Medicare and will use that against the Republicans in 2012 BUT THEY MUST BE TOUCHED; THEY ARE UNSUSTAINABLE.

That does not mean eliminating them just making small changes that will save billions.

MEDICARE: Right now there is a salary limit on which Medicare deductions apply; raise the limit. Also, up the age at which Medicare kicks in to 66 and up it more in the future when people will work longer due to better health, etc.

The problem with the Democrats is that they want to soak the rich to pay for their pet welfare projects and what needs to happen is for them to CUT their pet welfare projects and I stand with the Republicans on this issue because raising taxes is not good for our current economy.

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• No free pass for Medicare recipients in debt talks (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Partisan rhetoric may shrink deficit aspirations (seattletimes.nwsource.com)

MALAYSIA: The time has come...

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I don’t ever remember writing about MALAYSIA before but the country is in the news and I have a special reason for following events there.

I travelled to Malaysia years ago on a business trip. It was a very, very long journey to get there and when I arrived at 4AM and stepped outside, I knew I was in trouble. The temperature in Kuala Lumpur at 4AM was in the 90s so what should I expect when the sun came out.

Malaysia is officially Muslim and it was long pants and long sleeved shirts and a temperature over 100°F; I thought I was going to die of heat stroke. We ate in open air restaurants with our fingers with the meals served on palm leaves…interesting?

Anyway, the country is a constitutional monarchy and a democracy with elections but there were problems. The indigenous population is MALAY with large populations of Chinese and Hindu Indians mainly from the south of India.

All laws are biased towards the Malays. In fact only Malay can head a company so Chinese and Indian companies have to hire a Malay CEO and pay him even though he is just a figure head and does not actually run anything…strange?

I knew that this form of autocratic government would be challenged in future years and it seems the time has arrived. The New York Times among other media, are reporting that Malaysians are asking for election reforms and are protesting in public to have their voices heard.

Nearly 2,000 protesters were arrested and tear gas and water cannon were used to disperse the protesters but I think that just like in the Middle East, people are fed up with autocratic governments and want the winds of freedom to start blowing in their direction and I applaud their efforts.

The news accounts did not specify the ethnic make-up of the protestors and just called them Malaysians but I know that Malays are treated better by the government than other ethnicities so I don’t think they were the ones trying to improve the election process…I will do more digging.

I have many great stories from my visit and one is that the Malay women are beautiful and even though some of them wear the Islamic burquas, their faces remain uncovered and are made-up. I found that fascinating that these women have only the face to work with to show off their beauty…and they do a great job of it.

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• Why do Japanese hate Chinese, and Chinese hate Malay? (eekaa.wordpress.com)
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• World: RACE WAR IN MALAYSIA (time.com)

DETROIT: Kwame blames others for his downfall as expected...

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This Sunday’s newspapers are just chockfull of stories about subjects that I usually comment on.

The first one is by Nolan Finley of the Detroit News titled: “Kwame keeps hurting Detroit” and is about the book the former mayor of Detroit wrote while in jail which the sale of, he is hoping, will make him some money. A judge in Detroit made it mandatory that any proceeds from the sale of the book will go to paying his fine to the city of Detroit.

Some excerpts from the book have surface and I am not surprised that he lays the blame for his downfall on “white” people (add Jewish) out to destroy the city of Detroit and its African-American leaders.

Nolan Finley states that the city of Detroit has been run entirely by black people for the last 35 years and they were fully empowered to run the city and why in the hell would “white” people want to destroy Detroit; what would they gain?

Finley points out that it was the white business community that supported Kwame and even bailed his ass out (Karamanos) by giving him a paying job when he was thrown out of office.

I have been talking about the culture of incompetence and corruption in the City of Detroit for years and for Kilpatrick to lay the blame for his greed and corruption and eventual downfall on some white conspiracy is just absurd and stupid but… not a surprise.

Our new mayor Dave Bing is having a hell of a time turning the city around because the culture is so entrenched; Obama is having to send federal workers to take over the jobs that Detroiters cannot seem manage.

Detroiters on the other hand, are trying to repeal the Emergency Manager Law which the governor passed specifically to clean up the mess the “culture” caused in the last number of years, as if to say that they like the way things are and want the gravy train of corruption to continue but who is to pay for that gravy train when the cupboards are bare?

Detroiters object to the dictatorial powers the emergency manager has which they claim negate their power to elect officials they choose. Judging by the choices Detroiters have made in those years, they deserve and need a dictator if the city is to survive at all.

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MOVIES: Two that are recommended...

There were two (2) movies that I have seen recently that deserve mention; they were so good.

The first one was LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD and I know, it’s a kid’s tale well don’t let real young kids see it, it will scare the hell out of them.

Yes it involves a werewolf and yes she does wear a red riding hood and there is a dream scene where the famous words “What big teeth you have” etc. are actually spoken but the story and the way the movie was filmed, is just plain fantastic AND it had us guessing to the very end. It is NOT a cartoon.

The other is THE WARRIOR’S WAY which is a standard story of a great Japanese swordsman who wins many battles, etc. but there is a twist to the story when the scene switches to a lawless town out in the Wild West.

It is not only filmed in a new way that probably uses the best of digital technology but the story is told in a new way that sharply departs from what we are used to and I like it.

Hope you have a big HD TV because it is best viewed on one but no matter what type of TV, the films will definitely please you…highly recommended.

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YELLOWSTONE NAT. PARK: Grizzly kills man hiking there...

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Recently, I talked about our huge adventure to Yellowstone so it was with amazement and trepidation that we read about a hiker in Yellowstone that was fatally mauled by a grizzly.

The attack occurred in an area WE visited. When we were there, many signs were posted telling us to beware of bears, especially bears with cubs since they will attack when they feel their cubs are in danger. In fact, many trails were closed because a nursing bear was spotted in the area.

The couple that was attacked has been to Yellowstone four times and was aware of the warnings. When we were there, a record amount of snow had fallen throughout the winter and was still on the ground in some parts even though it was nearly June. That snowfall prevented the bears from moving to higher elevations, away from trails and humans.

The warning is to NEVER SURPRIZE a mother bear with cubs and so on our hikes we made a lot of noise. You are also suppose to carry “bear spray” and we bought some BUT I don’t know if I would stand and wait for a charging grizzly to come close enough for me to use the spray; I definitely would have soiled myself long before he got close.

The couple spotted the grizzly and cubs 100 yards ahead and turned around immediately and started walking / running away and the grizzly caught up with the man who yelled for his wife to run. What she did was play dead and after picking her up by her backpack, the grizzly wandered off.

We were debating on what we would have done in the same situation recounting all the instructions by park rangers BUT the instructions are confusing: play dead, fetal position, prone position, stand your ground they are only bluffing, etc. We came to the conclusion that we should carry a “bear gun” whenever we go hiking in bear country but you can’t carry weapons while travelling unless you drove to Wyoming…not likely.

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DETROIT: The FEDS have to do it because Detroiters don't know how?

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Metro and State | Federal government to help direct Detroit's rebuilding | The Detroit News

I would be embarrassed if I was mayor of Detroit and could not find capable, responsible Detroiters to fill jobs in city government. Obama is sending teams of federal employees to do the job Detroiters just cannot seem to do...what does that tell you?

CASEY ANTHONY CASE: Don't blame the jurors for doing their job...

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Since the jury found Casey Anthony not guilty all I have heard is rants about the jury members and about our judicial system but today I have heard from some jurors and they made sense.

They said she is probably guilty but the prosecutors did such a piss poor job of proving she killed her daughter that no fair minded, sane person would have convicted her on bullshit suppositions by an idiot team of prosecutors that did not have any evidence to begin with.

Warner Spitz (pathologist here) said the prosecutors could not even say what Caylee died from and if they could not say definitely that she died as a result of a homicide or drowning or anything, she might as well have died of natural causes. Ask yourself, how can you punish someone for a crime that they don’t even know happened since there WAS NO CAUSE OF DEATH.

Yeah, people want desperately to blame somebody but you can’t just pick somebody you think did it and send them to an electric chair; we have laws that require proof before you fry somebody BUT…

And I have been saying this for a long time; the problem in our judicial system is the prosecutors who don’t seem to want justice and fairness…they just want to convict somebody, anybody…evidence does not matter just a good bullshit story…

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PROSECUTORS AT IT AGAIN: Casey Anthony case...

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Casey Anthony has been acquitted by the jury of murdering her daughter but was guilty of lying to investigators on several occasions.

I think everyone that followed this case knew the prosecutors had no evidence so WHY TRY HER FOR FIRST DEGREE MURDER?

This is exactly what I have been talking about; prosecutors will try to convict you and even send you to death row while knowing there is no evidence to prove decidedly that you are indeed guilty. The jury saw the lack of evidence right away and acquitted her quickly.

What if the jury members were twits and bought the “hypothetical” explanation offered by prosecutors as to what really happened? Would she be convicted of first degree murder based on a hypothetical explanation and potentially sentenced to death?

It appears that this is true and therefore I say there is a major problem with how we charge people with crimes and how we try them in court.

Prosecutors have to get permission to try someone for a crime and that permission should be given based on evidence of a crime so how did they get permission to try Anthony based on what?

I understand “probable cause” but what then?

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PROSECUTORS: Need to be punished...

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I have often stated that PROSECUTORS, at all levels, do not have justice as their first priority but conviction at any price; a good conviction record means a good resume, good enough to run for the next higher office.

We now are aware of countless convicted men that were later exonerated by DNA evidence or just the discovery of prosecutorial misconduct during the trial. Many men were on death row when they were freed.

The latest case involves a similar story about John Thompson who spent 18 years in jail, 14 of which were on death row for a murder and carjacking of which he was later exonerated.

A private investigator discovered that the assistant district attorney kept “exculpatory” (to clear one of guilt) evidence from the defense attorney. In other words, this prosecutor who knew the evidence he had would clear Thompson, hid it on purpose just to get a conviction; send an innocent man to death…can you believe it?

Thompson sued the Orleans Parish district attorney’s office for allowing one of their prosecutors to withhold evidence that would have cleared him and railroading him onto death row. He won a jury verdict awarding him $14 million dollars but the case eventually found its way to the Supreme Court; which is rare.

The district attorney’s office argued that it was a “rogue prosecutor” or “miscreant prosecutor” who was at fault and not the district attorney’s office. The Supreme Court’s conservative judges agreed with the district attorney’s argument and nullified all previous rulings including a favorable ruling by the 5^th Circuit Court.

I won’t go into the legal mumbo-jumbo but to say the court split along ideological lines; conservatives vs. liberals.

My point is what about Mr. Thompson’s lost 18 years? What about the mental anguish of being on death row? What about his children that did not have a father those 18 years and thought their father was a murderer? Where is justice for this man? He even said it was not about the money but how could this have happened; why is this allowed?

The Supreme Court stated that the New Orleans District Attorney’s office could not be held responsible for what occurred and my question is WHO IS TO BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT HAPPENED? The fact that the original prosecutor (now dead) and three (3) other prosecutors plus the lab that tested the evidence, knew the evidence existed and was not being given to the defense, proves that people were responsible for the crime against Mr. Thompson.

The conservative bloc of the Supreme Court, in this case, failed to provide justice and more importantly, failed to send a message to all U.S. prosecutors that unlawful behavior on their part will not be tolerated and a price will be extracted from those prosecutors that behave in this way and from the office that employs these prosecutors and has a responsibility to supervise these “miscreant prosecutors”.

MICHIGAN PROPOSAL 2 (2006) REVISITED...

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Some years back we battled the issue of using race to grant preferential treatment in university admission policies; affirmative action.

In Michigan, we banned affirmative action in 2006 when we voted in Proposal 2 and also the Supreme Court stated that banning affirmative action is constitutional.

So why did the 6^th Circuit Court of Appeals declare Proposal 2 and what it stands for “unconstitutional”?

I did not know that the NAACP and ACLU of Michigan (no more support from me) filed a lawsuit in 2006 to overturn Proposal 2 and it has taken all this time for the court to finally make a decision.

At the time of passage of Proposal 2, people worried that minorities would be eliminated from entering universities since they could not compete with better educated “white” students. Well that turned out to be total bullshit and minority admissions are on the rise after falling for a few years.

The very thought of giving preference in university admissions due to race or gender is absurd and unfair; merit should be the only determinant in an admission policy and I think minorities and non-minorities would tend to agree.

Anyway, we voted in 2006 and the Supreme Court agreed with us so what in the hell is this all about.

It appears that the court based its argument on AMENDMENT XIV and the “EQUAL PROTECTION” clause. This amendment is one of a batch of amendments passed after the Civil War to protect the rights of newly freed Negro slaves as well as other matters.

The section of the amendment in question was phrased in a vague manner specifically so as to give each generation room for interpretation as it pertains to their specific issues…what?

“…No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; or shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

To the court, Proposal 2 somehow abridged the privileges of specific individuals; minorities. BUT privileges are NOT granted to just specific individuals, they have to be shared by ALL citizens. So Proposal 2 is not taking away anything from anybody, it is making sure all is fair and equal for ALL citizens.

The fact that the Court of Appeals has decided to base their arguments on bullshit instead of common sense makes me have less and less regard for judges that try to push a personal agenda, “activist judges”, by trashing what the Constitution writers intended EVEN given the wide latitude of interpretation offered by the generality of the amendment.

The Detroit Free Press, as liberal as they come, said the court’s ruling does not hold water…

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DOMINIQUE STRAUSS - KHAN RELEASED: Shame on us?

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I remember we were all so pleased to see DOMINIQUE STRAUSS-KAHN, the French president of the IMF (International Monetary Fund) and famous womanizer get caught for allegedly trying to rape a poor, ignorant cleaning lady from Africa.

I remember writing how Khan has always managed to escape any punishment for his many sexual misadventures due to the structure of French law and his “important status” in world affairs. I called it a cultural clash of the high-and-mighty rules of French society and the American legal system that does not care who you are; same justice for all.

Well, I should have obeyed my own total mistrust of prosecutors, no matter where they may come from; they really don’t care about truth and justice; they care about a big conviction rate which will help them run for the next higher political office.

Kahn was released from house arrest because there seem to be some irregularities with the poor, ignorant cleaning lady from Africa. There is evidence that a sexual encounter did occur between Kahn and the cleaning lady but was it forced or consensual?

It appears that the 32 year-old cleaning lady from Guinea has not been quite as truthful as first thought and she may have been lying about many other things including being involved in drug smuggling and money laundering.

My wife asked that if she is not the innocent cleaning woman as was first thought BUT was sexually assaulted against her will, is that still a crime even if she is a criminal herself? Well I would think so even though her credibility is now shot and the defense cab just call her a liar and trying to extort money from the wealthy Mr. Kahn and that is all she wrote…

The Manhattan district attorney in charge of the prosecution is Cyrus Vance, Jr. son of the great Cyrus Vance who served Presidents Kennedy, Johnson and Carter. Junior (56) is not looking so good right now and his quest for higher office may have stalled somewhat as it should…

My problem is more with loosing face in the cultural war with France and Europe. Our system maybe is not better than theirs even though I think it is and we may have “rushed” to convict without getting all our marbles in order.

The French will also say that we “ridiculed” and “embarrassed” a famous man like Kahn who was suppose to run for president of France, for no good reason; we are hot heads clamoring for headlines…not so civilized as in Europe after all…

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• NO SURPRISE 'MUSLIM' MAID LIED! Prosecutors agree to free Dominique Strauss-Kahn on his own recognizance (barenakedislam.wordpress.com)
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Thaddeus McCotter: MY Rep. running for president?

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This morning’s paper reported that THADDEUS McCotter, my REPUBLICAN representative in Congress has declared himself in the running for president of the United States.

I don’t think he has a snowball’s chance in hell of getting the nomination so why is he running?

I will admit that I have voted for him in the past even though I had issues with some of his positions but there was no one else to vote for since the Democrats who opposed him were worthless.

McCotter seems to be an opportunist which most politicians are and stands up for any issue that will get him re-elected.

He supported Bush in the Iraq War when I was against it. He supported auto company bailouts even though his Republican cohorts were ALL against them. He even supported a pro-union bill when ALL his Republican buddies voted against it. In other words, he makes great arguments for his Republican / conservative views but then he votes against them and for that he wants the Republicans to nominate him to run for president?

One of his biggest negatives is that he is totally unknown in the country and what better way to get known is to run for president and get that media attention that he needs to maybe make a run next time?

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• Thaddeus McCotter Declares for President July 2nd (minx.cc)
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REPUBLICANS / PLANNED PARENTHOOD/ WIC FUNDING...

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I have been talking about the totally imbecilic campaign by Republicans to de-fund PLANNED PARENTHOOD, the main organization that helps women from getting pregnant with unwanted children.

I said imbecilic because as we know, the Republican’s main focus right now is cutting spending / costs to bring down our staggering deficit and by de-funding Planned Parenthood especially with regards to Medicaid patients, they are dramatically increasing the likelihood of many more poor women having unwanted pregnancies.

The resultant children of these unwanted pregnancies will most likely become lifetime recipients of our tax dollars, one way or another…so how are you cutting costs by de-funding Planned Parenthood?

Anyway, this morning I read that those same Republicans want to cut WIC (Women, Infants & Children) food benefits that help feed those poor women and their offspring.

So let me get this straight, you are promoting unwanted pregnancies by poor women on the one hand and when they have these children, you are refusing to feed them?

I am sorry but I just don’t get it…

Related articles

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GAY MARRIAGE: Passed in New York...

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I have just heard that New York has passed legislation legalizing GAY MARRIAGE.

This was a hard fought battle. The legislation was proposed by Governor Andrew Cuomo (Catholic & Democrat) and passed by a Republican controlled legislature…go figure.

I have often stated that in Europe and elsewhere, all marriages are legal civil unions and have to be performed by the state. Religious marriage ceremonies are NOT legally binding but are performed for people who want to add a religious dimension to their marriage.

If the U.S. would follow this method, there would be no controversy; just take away the legal power of churches to marry and require only courts to issue legal civil union certificates…problem solved.

But we as a nation can’t seem to take the easy and fair road; we have to complicate things and it all hinges on the definition of the word “marriage”…how silly.

Anyway, the law has provisions that allow churches that are against gay marriage, not to perform those marriages…how simple is that? Well, nothing is obviously simple about this issue so expect much drama implementing this new law.

Before the law was passed, Maureen Dowd of the New York Times had a great article (June 19) titled: THE ARCHBISHOP VS. THE GOVERNOR: Gay Sera, Sera with a great subtitle: “Starchbishop Dolan speaks now and never holds his peace.”

Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York took it upon himself to stop the gay marriage bill…and obviously, he failed in the long run.

Maureen Dowd had some great insights into the issue that I just MUST share.

She said that Archbishop Dolan had called gay marriage a perversity against nature but says nothing about the true perversity against nature of the priestly sex molestation scandal.

She mentions that Dolan that marriage between a man and a woman is “hard-wired” by God and nature but how does he know that homosexuality is NOT hard-wired by God and nature and is NOT a lifestyle choice.

This is my argument from the start that homosexuals are “born” that way and don’t decide to “become” homosexuals and science will bear this out. And if they are “born” homosexual than God and nature created them that way…so there!

She talked about the meeting of American catholic Bishops in Seattle (Dolan is head) and I have blogged about that recently. She ridiculed a study commissioned by the bishops, that blamed the permissive secular society as a cause for the priestly sex scandal (free love 1960s) instead of celibacy rules that attracted homosexuals to the priesthood…how absurd.

Also at the meeting, a retired bishop from Anchorage, Alaska proposed that some priests guilty of sex crimes could return to parish duty…the motion failed but to even suggest such a motion is the height of absurdity and shows you how these bishop morons think.

She ended the article by saying that in light of the WEINER scandal, maybe politicians should be celibate and priests should be married…nice.

Related articles

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• Archbishop Timothy Dolan Continues Campaign Against New York Same-Sex Marriage Bill (newyork.cbslocal.com)
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VACATION NOTES: Up in Beaverton, MI...

On our way to Charlevoix, MI, we stopped in to visit my brother-in-law and his wife who live in BEAVERTON, MI which is close to MIDLAND, MI.

He spent 40 years at Fords and decided to retire somewhere totally different from an assembly line and even a suburb and why not!

He has a few acres tucked away but near the little town of Beaverton. The greenery is overwhelming, the tranquility is overwhelming and he keeps it so well manicured you think you are in some botanical garden.

Winters are brutal which makes the coming of spring so breathtaking!

DETROIT: Maybe Bing bit off more than he can chew...

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

As you know, I have always supported Detroit Mayor Dave Bing as the man that can turn the city around.

Just lately, I have been having my doubts about his capabilities especially his leadership capabilities in light of the dismal performance of his staff; his chief of staff resigned and his communications director resigned once the local papers reported that a former employee was suing the city for improper dismissal and mentioned the fact that the mayor was not really in charge but his communications director; Michele Dumas… among many other controversies.

I am disappointed that Bing surrounded himself with former employees of the previous mayor who happened to be corrupt as hell, who in essence, were just propagating the culture of incompetence and corruption that have mired the city for decades; not a good sign.

He is still looking in all the wrong places for new staff. The local papers made some suggestions but it appears that non-blacks are unwelcome to come help the city; a white U of M graduate student doing volunteer work for the city said as much in a letter to the editor.

That is unfortunate since for the city to be revitalized, new blood must be enticed to settle in the city and much of the new blood coming to places like the Mid-Town area is non-black.

I feel bad for the mayor because a successful CEO has a successful staff and he cannot be successful without one and it seems he is just incapable of even finding a good, smart chief of staff who would then help him hire good, smart, productive staff to fill the other positions.

Bing has even asked President Obama to help him and Obama is sending federal help in the form of teams of officials from different federal agencies that will do what Detroit City employees are incapable of doing? How pitiful is that? It seems Detroit wastes countless millions of federal grant money because of incompetence and corruption.

Gary Brown of the City Council, a former police officer and executive that sued the former Mayor for improper dismissal which led to that whole “sexting” scandal that toppled the mayor and his administration, seems like a person that needs to run for mayor. He is not afraid to speak out, has enough of his own money so he is not beholden to anyone and has the drive and energy of a younger man.

The fact that city council members will have to be elected from a specific ward of the city means that they will, for the first time, represent a specific area of the city. Historically, council members always ran as at-large members which means they did not represent any specific area or population. I think that will make a huge difference in city government and bring in that fresh blood the city so desperately needs.

Maybe Dave Bing bit off more than he can chew…maybe he will find that person that can help him do what needs to be done…I hope so.

Related articles

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