Anyone really believe Iran is just looking for nuclear technology for peaceful purposes?

Yeah right, then why are they caught doing this: Iranian nuke plot vaporized in the city: NY banks unwittingly aided in material transfers, says DA Yes it's a rather sensational headline but here's what Iran was doing:

The Manhattan district attorney's office has smashed a sinister plot to smuggle nuclear weapons materials to Iran through unwitting New York banks, the Daily News has learned.

Officials plan to unseal a 118-count indictment Tuesday accusing a Chinese national of setting up a handful of fake companies to hide that he was selling millions of dollars in potential nuclear materials to Tehran.

"This case will cut off a major source of supply to Iran and it shows how they are going ahead full steam to get a nuclear bomb. Long-range missiles they pretty much have already," a law enforcement source close to the case said.

. . .

Experts say Iran, under the leadership of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, appears close to amassing enough nuclear material to make an atom bomb. A United Nations embargo bans Iran from acquiring the high-tech metals needed to make a long-range nuclear weapon a reality.

The indictment will outline the financial conspiracy behind 58 different transactions, including shipments of various banned materials from China to Iran between 2006 and late 2008.

Among them:

33,000 pounds of a specialized aluminum alloy used almost exclusively in long-range missile production.
66,000 pounds of tungsten copper plate, which is used in missile guidance systems.
53,900 pounds of maraging steel rods, a superhard metal used in uranium enrichment and to make the casings for nuclear bombs.
The recipient is believed to have been a subsidiary of the Iranian Defense Ministry.

Now for a harshly worded letter from the State Department...any day now.....

It's pretty sad when its the Manhattan District Attorney taking the lead on this rather than the Feds.

A Taxing Time

So my taxes are now filed, electronically no less. How about yours?

On the upside it looks like we will be getting a decent refund this year.

The downside:
a. A refund simply means you're getting back money you had the government withhold and use for no interest to you.

b. The reason we're getting a refund is not due to any accounting magic or government stimulus or tax breaks. Instead it is beacause we badly overwithheld our taxes. Why? Well we figured my wife's business as a Marriage and Family Therapist would do as well this year as it did last year (the whole safe harbor witholding thing - if you don't witthold the appropriate amounts you're penalized). Instead it was down 90%.

Why is it so down: Well the Michigan economy is a great explanation. People won't pay for therapy and try to hold a marriage together or other counselling needs when they need to focus on necessities.

Another reason is beacause of the strange insurance landscape in Michigan. Blue Cross / Blue Shield does not recognize my wife's Ph.D. in Marriage and Family Therapy, for counselling purposes mainly due to the lobbying of Psychologists and Social Workers (Social Workers mind you have far less training than MFTs in counseliing but due to their numbers provide a large lobby indeed). Other states do, and amazingly enough, BC/BS in other states also recognizes it and will have MFTs as providers.

This year doesn't look much better either, but we'll see what happens.

Michigan State vs North Carolina Competition

Let's see how they line up:

Michigan State:
Unemployment: 12%
Job loss/gain (2009): -277,000 to date
Foreclosures: 6th in the nation
Economic Potential: Been in a recession since before it was fashionable, devoted to wrong ideas and single-industry concentration.
Union or right to work: Union

North Carolina:
Unemployment: 9.5%
Job loss/gain (2009): 38,00 predicted for all of 2009.
Foreclosures: 25th in the nation
Economic Potential: Taking a hit now, but has a great deal of potential for a comeback with a very diversified and advanced economy.
Union or right to work: Right to Work

The quick comparison shows North Carolina is ahead, and it was much farther ahead last year.

Oh, you mean the NCAA match up? Two great teams of hard-working athletes, but the Tar Heels have the edge so it should be a great game. Not a bad thing to watch to get your mind off the economy.

More Sure Signs of Global Warming

Or just Nature's idea of a late April Fool's Joke:


Another shot of winter: Heavy snow slows morning commute

Or Maybe Al Gore is in town to watch the NCAA finals?

The Detroit News:

What a sloppy, gloppy, drippy, mushy mess.

A spring storm whipping in from the Midwest brought rain, snow, thunder and lighting while dumping up to 5 inches of wet, heavy snow across the Metro area. The storm sent winter-weary residents of southeastern Michigan rooting through their closets for galoshes and parkas they thought they had put away for the year.

"We had rain that turned into snow starting at about midnight," said National Weather Service Meteorologist Phil Kurimski.

"It dropped 3-5 inches across most of the area. We had some real intense snow occurring between midnight and about 5 a.m., with up to 1-2 inches of snow per hour. The heaviest snow was south of Flint down through the Interstate 96 area. The hardest hit areas were Lenawee, western Wayne and Oakland counties."

Snow accumulations included 5 inches in White Lake Township, 3.9 inches in Ann Arbor and 3.8 inches in Garden City and Dearborn.

According to Kurimski, the snow storm was also accompanied by thunder and lightning.

"We did have thunder snow last night, and there were a couple of reports of lightning strikes," Kurimski said. "It was a very heavy, wet snow. If you tried to make a snowball you'd have to wring out the water. The storm should be over with by about noon, and any accumulation will probably be held down once the sun comes out. We may also get another inch of snow tomorrow."

The spring storm is expected to have little effect on tonight's NCAA Final Four championship game between the Spartans of Michigan State University and the Tar Heels of the University of North Carolina.

In any case, this Snow after we had a tantalizing week of spring last week just plain coldly sucks.

Dive 105 - Doublin' Down

10:00 am at Union Lake, a rather cold day with the water temp reading 43 degrees.

My fist time in double tanks.

Its a little different from a single - the double tanks weigh a good 110 pounds or so, and putting them on is fun, not to mention getting your fins on in the water.

The back kick is a fair bit harder in them as well...you kick and nothing moves for quite a bit and then finally you go backwards. Doubles are also a fair bit harder to control on ascent as the wing is larger and as you ascend the air expands, making you go up even faster, which is not desirable. So you're dumping air quicker from the wing and trying to mange things a lot faster.

On the upside they're very stable in the water, more so than the single tank rig, and a lot safer as you have a redundant air supply, and two primary regulators rather than only one primary.

This is going to take some practice, but its a lot of cool, indeed cold given the water temps, fun.

Obama, Democrats and Statistics

Obama to Name Advocate for statistical Sampling to Direct the Census.

Obama To Nominate U-M Prof. For Census Director

President Barack Obama is tapping Robert M. Groves, a University of Michigan professor who has pushed the use of statistical sampling, to be the next census director.

Why does this matter?

Well he is a proponent using statistical sampling, advocates of which claim there is an "undercount" of about 5 million people claimed to not be found in urban and minority areas, which tend to vote Democrat, and any such sampling will only increase the power of these urban areas in terms of congressional districts, spending etc. So the appointment of such an advocate of a method that just happens to cook the census numbers in the Democrats favor, combined with Obama's recent push to make the Census under the purview and control of the White House is enough to get people a bit worried.

As noted in the Detroit Free Press:

But Bob Groves’ selection came amid calls from some Republicans that Obama should pick someone else: During earlier tour as a deputy director of the bureau nearly 20 years ago, Groves advocated statistical sampling as a means of correcting a historically large undercount in the 1990 Census – a stand that put him at odds with the Department of Commerce secretary overseeing the bureau.

Sampling wasn’t used – and by the end of the decade, the U.S. Supreme Court had ruled that it could not be used in setting congressional representation. But the mere mention of Groves’ name Thursday as the man expected to be appointed by Obama set some Republicans on Capitol Hill on edge.

“With the nomination of Robert Groves, President Obama has made clear that he intends to employ the political manipulation of census data for partisan gain,” said Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina, the ranking Republican on the House Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census and National Archives. “This represents a reversal of recent White House assurances that it would not exercise political influence over the census.”

Of course Democrats say they'd do no such thing really:

At the Brookings Institution, a public policy think tank in Washington, D.C., Andrew Reamer, an expert on federal statistical policy and programs, called McHenry’s statement “laughable.” He and other Census experts noted there are no plans to use sampling in next year’s count – the bureau’s mission plan doesn’t call for them and it’s too late to start now – and its own officials have questioned in the past whether they have an effective way of employing them to right the tally of historically undercounted populations, like young people, transients, African Americans and Hispanics.

Certainly such an appointment bears watching, and the whole "its too late to do sampling" claim doesn't carry a lot of weight - analytical decisions and processes can be changed and given the attention the Obama Administration is paying to the census there's certainly a risk of "change" happening to the results.

Meanwhile real human rights violations escape the Human Rights Councils investigatory purview

That tolerant Religion of Peace at work: Villagers attack homes of Baha'is in Egypt

Dozens of Muslim villagers have attacked the homes of members of the minority Baha'i religion in southern Egypt, hurling firebombs and denouncing them as "enemies of God," human rights groups said Thursday.

The attacks began Saturday after a prominent Egyptian media commentator denounced a Baha'i activist in a television appearance as an "apostate" and called for her to be killed.

The Baha'i religion was founded in the 1860s by a Persian nobleman, Baha'u'llah, whom the faithful regard as the most recent in a line of prophets that included Buddha, Abraham, Jesus and Muhammad. Muslims reject the faith because they believe Muhammad was God's final prophet, and Baha'is have been persecuted in the Middle East.

In Egypt, where the majority of the country's nearly 80 million people are Sunni Muslim, the Baha'i faith is not recognized as an official religion. The head of Al-Azhar, Egypt's dominant religious authority, has also declared it a "sacrilegious dogma."

After five days of violence, calm returned Wednesday to the village of Shouraniya, located about 215 miles south of Cairo. No one was injured in the attacks.

The village's 15 Baha'i residents were forced to leave, and police have prevented them from returning, rights groups said.

Waiting for the UN Human Rights Council to order an investigation, issue a strong denounciation, send a harshly worded note, speak a whisper of sanction.....

UN Human Rights Council set to stick it to Israel, as usual, and Obama wants to join in the fun

UN names South African to lead Israel-Gaza probe

The United Nations on Friday appointed a former chief prosecutor for war crimes in Yugoslavia and Rwanda to lead a high-level mission to investigate alleged war crimes committed by Israel in the Gaza Strip.

Israel refused to say if it would cooperate.

Richard Goldstone was named to head the investigation ordered by the Human Rights Council in January.

Of course, the investigation will be unbiased (as if):

According to the mandate, the investigation will focus only on Palestinian victims of the three-week war between Israel and Hamas earlier this year.

Current paragons of Human Rights sitting on the Council include: Cuba, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and a veritable rogues gallery of other outlaw nations.

In other words, a kangaroo council is setting up a biased investigation with the result a foregone conclusion.

Yet another reason the US should forgo trying to join the UN Human Rights Council and giving it any legitimacy by its presence, which Obama wants to do.

As part of President Obama's "new era of engagement," the U.S. State Department has just announced plans to seek one of the 47 seats on the United Nations Human Rights Council. This overturns the Bush policy since 2006 of shunning the Council, on grounds that, like its predecessor the U.N. Human Rights Commission, it is irredeemably tipped toward serving the interests of human rights violators.

Change, and not for the better.

A little selective news editing....

Interestingly, the Detroit Free Press article quoted in the previous post is missing something.

Gateway Pundit points out and posts about the full article from the AP, which has the following quote in it:

Welcomed with thunderous cheers, President Barack Obama pledged on Friday to work repair damaged relations with Europe, saying the world came together following the 2001 terrorist attacks but then "we got sidetracked by Iraq."

"We must be honest with ourselves," Obama said. "In recent years, we've allowed our alliance to drift."

The new U.S. president said that despite the bitter feelings that were generated by Iraq, the United States and its allies must stand together because "al-Qaida is still a threat."
.....
Obama opened his Strasbourg appearance with a 25-minute prepared speech in which he set a dramatic, long-term goal of "a world without nuclear weapons." He said he would outline details of his.....

Let's look at the Detroit Free Press cut:

Welcomed with thunderous cheers, President Barack Obama told a European audience today that he is setting a dramatic goal of “a world without nuclear weapons.”

The new American president opened a town-hall style gathering with the declaration, saying he would outline details in Prague in the coming days.

“Even with the Cold War now over, the spread of nuclear weapons or the theft of nuclear material could lead to the extermination of any city on the planet,” Obama said, previewing a planned speech.

Now the USA Today take:

Welcomed with thunderous cheers, President Obama told a European audience on Friday that he is setting a dramatic goal of "a world without nuclear weapons."
Obama said Friday the United States is changing, but it cannot be Americans alone who abandon long-held arrogance. Obama says Europeans too often have blamed the United States for what is wrong in the world, and that Americans have been dismissive of Europe's accomplishments.

Obama spoke to students at a town hall-style event with students in France. Obama used his opening remarks to praise NATO and says the 60-year partnership is a model for how the United States and Europe can work together.

Now I wonder why both the Detroit Free Press and USA Today got rid of the Obama's 'America Culpa' on Iraq portion of the speech? Just another leftist dissing America while in Europe.

Obama seeks world without nukes

And I want a Pony (not really, instead I really want a Barrett .50)

Welcomed with thunderous cheers, President Barack Obama told a European audience today that he is setting a dramatic goal of “a world without nuclear weapons.”

That's not only unrealistic, its downright irresponsible. Especially combined with his administrations complete passivity in the face of Iran's nuclear weapons development and North Korea's preparation to launch an ICBM.

And he gets in a little of the "Blame America first" mojo that he does so well.

Obama said the United States shares blame for the crisis, but that “every nation bears responsibility for what lies ahead — especially now.”

Nice to see the left wing of the Left wing of the Democrats are well and truly in charge.

Now I don't want the President to fail, he's doing that well enough on his own. But I would like him to root for the home team every now and then mmmkay?

Drunk Drivers, Hit and Run Drivers and Seatbelts

WJBK Fox Detroit: Man Severely Hurt after Hit & Run in Northville

Surveillance video (Click on the link above to view it - simply terrible) shows a white SUV rolling after a collision on Haggerty at Five Mile Road. A black truck caused the accident Tuesday around 7:00 p.m.

"He was going through the intersection at Five Mile and was just hit from the front. (That) sent him spinning and his car rolled, they say, three or four times," said Cassandra Callaghan.

Callaghan got the call a few hours later. Her father, 55-year-old David Dallas, was seriously injured. He was thrown through a window. His three grandchildren were waiting for him at the time of the crash.

According to witnesses, the driver of the truck was a white male with dark hair, possibly in his twenties. Police say he paused after the crash and they believe the suspect knew he hit someone before he took off.

"It was very clear that the driver stopped, looked and then left, which is probably the most disturbing thing to us," Callaghan said.

Even more disturbing, Callaghan's mother was hit by a drunk driver who left the scene of the accident back in December.

Dallas suffered broken bones in his back, neck and ribs. He was not wearing a seat belt.

Hopefully Mr. Dallas makes a complete recovery. I know the Callaghans -- darn good people -- so this makes it personal.

If you're in the area around Northville and you know the guy who did the hit and run, or notice the fresh damage to his truck, have him turn himself in or call police and turn the coward in.

And remember, wear your seat belt! - it reduces by far the chance of severe injury and being ejected from the car. No ifs, ands or buts. Having been in a rollover accident myself (in a Geo Prizm no less, but that's another story), the seat belt definitely saved me from being ejected and having the car roll over me, and I got through it with relatively minor injuries.

So, I pray that Mr. Dallas completely recovers and that the driver of the black truck does the right thing and turns himself in or someone else mans up and does it for him.

More Detroit City Council Clownery

Some days you wonder why we even pay attention to the goings-on at the Detroit City Council.

Sure its expected when they're jockeying for position as mayor they'll make some noise or more noise or even threats to get into the public eye.

Sure we're watching them trying their best to destroy Detroit not in order to save it, but both to aggrandize themselves and to stop the suburbs (ie white people) from having any say in keeping the City afloat and saving Detroit's "crown jewels", those rapidly declining edifices of what might have been but have been neglected into disrepair and mismanaged into shadows of their former glory.

Its a bit like watching the incompetent drunken engineer of a train cause a train wreck - in slow motion.

Enthralling, at the same time horrifying and ludicrous, a tragi-comedy of errors of epic proportions.

Maybe we watch because we just don't know what inanity they will think up next, or because the rest of the United States thinks that Detroit IS Michigan, especially southeast Michigan, and we watch Michigan decline as the rest of the US thinks we're in favor of this series of grossly negligent pronouncements of the council.

Onward Christian Soldiers (Detroit City Council Chapter only, no whites or suburbians please) indeed.

Michigan's Continuing Downward Spiral

The Detroit News: Leaving Michigan Behind: Eight-year population exodus staggers state

People are leaving Michigan at a staggering rate. About 109,000 more people left Michigan last year than moved in. It is one of the worst rates in the nation, quadruple the loss of just eight years ago. The state loses a family every 12 minutes, and the families who are leaving -- young, well-educated high-income earners -- are the people the state desperately needs to rebuild.

Long treated as a symptom of Michigan's economic woes, outmigration has exploded into a massive problem of its own, a slow-motion Katrina splintering families, gutting state coffers and crippling an already hobbled economy, one moving van at a time.

Michigan keeps being one of our nation's leader in all the wrong areas: unemployment, foreclosures, out-migration, crime (Detroit), stupidity of city officials (Detroit).

You sure can't blame people for leaving. A crumbling auto industry, a Democrat led state government that keeps taxing and spending like there's no tomorrow, a government that unless you're the film industry isn't very bsiness friendly, an economy that was in recession before anyone else and is in a depression now before any other state, of course pople are going to move to more business firendly environments. That's where the jobs are.

Hopefully Michigan will eventually figure that out, but the Democrats seemed locked in their death spiral and unable to change.

At least the State has figured out one way to slow the emigration: make the roads so bad, so its hard to leave. Michigan roads designed and paid for to last 30 years are crumbling in 10 or less due to defective concrete. At about $1 million a mile in union wages, studies and "planning" to get them paved in the first place, Michigan is again getting shafted on its investment, and giving people a bumpy ride on the way out.

AWNAA Bill introduced in Congress

AWNAA, if passed, would create jobs for the Unabled:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid introduced today the Americans With No Abilities Act (AWNAA).

AWNAA is expected to create up to 25 million mid-level jobs with good titles, good pay, and little or no responsibility for the substantial minority of U.S. citizens with no recognizable skills.

Using as its model the U.S. Post Office, where approximately 74% of employees fit that profile, and certain industries in the private sector such as the airline industry and home improvement retailers, AWNAA is designed to ensure long-term employment for this neglected group of Americans. President Barack Obama told reporters in a press conference today “As a President with no abilities, I believe the same privileges that elected officials enjoy ought to be extended to every American with no abilities. It is our duty as lawmakers to provide each and every American with no ability space to take up and a good salary for doing so.”






Happy April 1, everyone.

Garmin Freeze and Fix thanks to the Internet

My wife took my GPS, a Garmin C330, on her drive with her colleagues to Washington DC, where it apparently came quite in handy while they were traveling, especially through Pennsylvania. Her friends liked it so much a few of them are planning to buy them for themselves. I managed well enough without it for the 4 days she was gone.

Today i finally plugged it in and it immediately froze, locked solid, and i could just feel myself getting lost.

Thankfully I was well aware of my location and didn't need it, but it was worrisome that i couldn't turn it off, or make it work at all. Given I often have to go to totally new locations, the lack of the trusty Garmin C330 worried me.

Thanks to the internet however all was well once i thought to Google "Garmin C330 freeze fix." One of the search results was www.fixya.com and lo and behold there was a simple solution : Under the plastic cover frame for the screen there's a tab under the Garmin logo. Pulling on the tab takes off the screen and under it, carefully hidden away is a little button marked "reset". One push of the reset button and all was well (Unlike the helpful commenter, I did not need to wait for the batteries to die for this t work). Impressively, the Garmin has been so reliable mounted in my car I never noticed the tiny tab until it was described in that most.

Thanks to the Internet and the wisdom of techy-crowds, I'm much less likely to get lost.

Obama's next move: Let them drive Ladas

After the defenestration of Rick Waggoner (on the upside, any move that brings the term defenestration back into common usage has got to be a victory for both the English language and medieval revivalism. On the other hand, that Obama is having us think of the late medieval period with the rule of Kings and nobles with the peasants and serfs toiling on the land probably isn't such a happy thought. Then again, most Democrat nobles don't pay their taxes until nominated for cabinet positions, so maybe it is more apt than not.)

Obama went on to tell Chrysler it had to complete a partnership with Fiat within 30 days or else.

Now Obama may be longing for the good old days when Fiats were used as the basis for a fine symbolic car near and dear to all progressives hearts, a "car of the people". Given Obama didn't interfere with the leadership of the UAW while forcing the CEO of GM to step down, methinks he indeed would support such government control for the benefit of the workers and peasants of America.

Yep if you didn't click on the proceeding link we're talking about Ladas, a fine example of the results of progressive government control of the auto industry. Maybe we'll call it the Obama-Lada, or Obama-Lada-Ding-Dong for the extended version.

Note: Welcome to Instapundit and View From the Porch Readers! Glad you came by. Feel free to look around, comment and have a nice view.

Islamists just not unclenching their fist

In this time of hope and change, some surprisingly won't unclench their fist.

Pakistani Taliban threatens attack on White House>

The commander of the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility Tuesday for a deadly assault on a Pakistani police academy and said the group was planning a terrorist attack on the White House that would "amaze" the world.

Baitullah Mehsud, who has a $5 million bounty on his head from the U.S., said Monday's attack on the outskirts of the eastern city of Lahore was retaliation for U.S. missile strikes against militants along the Afghan border.

"Soon we will launch an attack in Washington that will amaze everyone in the world," Mehsud told The Associated Press by phone. He provided no details.

Wow, we couldn't have predicted that response now could we?

When Obama and co makes the US act like a "weak horse" the enemies of the United States are emboldened to aggresive acts, not encouraged to participate in peaceful dialogue.

Obama Cars

So I'm in a parking lot today and beside me is a nice luxury car with a prominent Obama bumper sticker.

No big deal right?

Well walking by it I notice on the passenger side, taped to the console/airbag area is not only another Obama sticker but a picture of the Obama family, another picture of Obama alone...its like an Obama shrine in that car. Wish I had a camera in my car, as this was a display to remember.

And people made jokes about some Christians praying for Bush...

This was in a synagogue parking lot by the way.

This close to Passover I half expected Edward G. Robinson to be standing by the car saying "where's your Obamessiah now?" "Where's your Obama now see?"

"Cap and Trade" on carbon emissions will bring rent seeking to a whole new level

The Detroit News in its editorial Editorial: Cap-and-trade idea needs full debate at least begins to illuminate the problems with the Democrat push of capping and trading carbon emissions.

Enacting a carbon cap-and-trade system is too transformational to allow it to be jammed through Congress without the full give-and-take of the legislative process and with the votes of just one party counting.

Credit Michigan Sen. Carl Levin for stepping in front of his own party's bulldozer to shout, "Slow down!"

Senate Democratic leaders know that cap-and-trade is an extremely divisive issue, pitting manufacturing states like Michigan against coastal states that have lost their minds to the global warming hysteria.

Levin correctly notes that a system of auctioning off carbon credits could drive up the cost of energy, meaning higher prices for nearly all goods, and put manufacturing industries at risk. He has joined seven of his Democratic colleagues in protesting the attempt to circumvent the normal legislative rules to get the bill passed without a full airing.

The cap-and-trade plan is well short of the 60 votes it needs to withstand a Senate filibuster. So Democrats are attempting to tuck the legislation into the budget bill, where it would need a simple majority of 51 votes.

Doing so would severely limit debate on a bill that would have a major impact on the national economy and the household budgets of every American. The pros and cons of the bill should be thoroughly argued, and the final version -- if there is one -- should be crafted in the philosophical middle.

But the tactic the Democrats want to employ would shut Republicans out of the discussion, as well as Democrats like Levin who are worried about how the bill will affect their states' key industries. . . .

We'll give Senator Levin credit for at least asking Congress to slow down on this one, and given this blog is rarely in agreement with the good Senator, thats's saying something. This seems to be standard Obama and hard left Democrat modus operandi - push your agenda-driven legislation through so quickly, before anyone has time for a sober second thought or to consider the implications, and then act like its a fait accompli.

Of course capping and the trading carbon emissions will increase cost. Our economy, indeed our very exhalations produce CO2. Capping such emissions, or worse rolling them back years will harm our economy in numerous untild ways. If you like the recession now, kjust wait for a carbon capped depression due to lack of energy available. Forget about plugging in your hybrid cars and feeling pious about saving carbon based fuels -- that electricity is either coming from coal (gasp! carbon!) or nuclear (double gasp! radiation! quick panic!) as wind and solar cannot provide enough, reliably enough.

In addition cap and trade is ripe for rent seeking and lobbying for allocation of the carbon credits. The amount of gaming of the system for getting the initial bank of credits issued to various industries and then trading them will be as transparent as the last stimulus bill, and much more lucrative. Just look at Michigan's current cap and trade plan for nitrous oxide emissions (based on EPA mandates for cap-and-trade) for an example of some massive multi=million dollar system gaming going on.

Most importantly, there's still no real proof that: A. Capping and trading carbon will actually reduce global warming; B. that there really is global warming going on in the first place; and finally C.That cap and trading carbon will do anything other than harm the American economy.

But then again, C. is probably the point of the whole exercise.

Dive 104 - Union Lake in March

Just returned from my first dive of the 2009 dive season.

Water temperature: 38 degrees F.
Dive time: 30 minutes
Visibility: 15-20 feet

Overall the dive went quite well, getting back in the water after a few months out for winter. The water was cold but not as bad as we'd thought it would be. After about 25 minutes or so I had an ice cream headache without the benefits of eating ice cream.

Buoyancy control was good, back kick was still there and functional and the frog kick is working.

Not a bad start to the season.

The only downside to the dive was that as I was assembling my dive gear at the site and attaching my tank to my backplate, my left pinky finger slid around the metal of the cam band and got caught under the metal cam as I was closing it. Yeowch! I now have a very swollen and black colored top of my pinky finger that hurts like crazy. I've now learned to close the cam a lot more carefully.

Ah well, the things we do for sport.

La Raza Lobbyist appointed Obama's director of White House intergovernmental affairs,

So much for that whole "no lobbyists in my administration" promise.

The Detroit News: Michigan Latina is Obama link to states, communities

Michigan native Cecilia Munoz wasn't used to busy senators calling her personally to ask about Latino concerns, so Barack Obama -- then a new senator from Illinois -- quickly stood out.

"It is rare for someone in the U.S. Senate to call you up on the spur of the moment for help in something he was thinking through," recalls Munoz, who was then a top Capitol Hill lobbyist for the National Council of La Raza.

"When (Obama) had questions about policy, he would call. He really developed those kinds of relationships with people. I learned his openness to counsel and advice and guidance."

When Senator Obama became President Obama, he tapped the mother of two teen-aged daughters to become director of White House intergovernmental affairs, the "doorway," as she puts it, between all state and local officials and the president.

"We need a strong partnership with state and local government in order to deliver ... change. My job is to make sure those partnerships are as strong as possible," said Munoz, who grew up in Livonia, the daughter of Bolivian immigrants....

Oh, and La Raza, translation into English - "The Race" (Michelle Malkin spotted this appointment before the Detroit News and has some salient comments). La Raza as in "Hispanics uber alles". as the Germans might say, hard to imagine another ethnic group getting away with the name like that and lobbying under it, not to mention defending illegal immigration to boot.

You know the economy is bad when Casinos are losing money

MGM puts casino on the block: Las Vegas-based owner of Detroit's largest, most-profitable gaming house seeks to reduce debt.

MGM Grand Detroit, the city's largest and most profitable casino, is up for sale.

It's just one property across Las Vegas-based MGM Mirage's multinational empire being pitched to buyers as the debt-ridden company seeks to shore up its balance sheet, two sources familiar with the matter confirmed Sunday.

The specter of a sale of MGM Grand Detroit and other profitable properties like Bellagio on the Vegas Strip comes as MGM Mirage is seeking to erase tens of billions in debt, much of it financing the company's $8.6 billion CityCenter venture in Las Vegas.

Selling very profitable entities (and what is a casino but a private license to print money?) to balance out bad real estate bets has got to hurt.

Madagascar - I like to Move in! Move in!

Dozens of soldiers seize a palace in Madagascar

ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar – Soldiers broke into an unoccupied presidential palace Monday and took it over in a symbolic show of force after Madagascar's opposition leader called on the army to arrest the president.

No confirmation that they were singing this song and doing this dance as they did so, but one can only hope they did for sheer style points alone:


In addition, there have been no reports of Lemurs being harmed in this current move-in attempt.

Obammo begins to go after the Ammo

The Shotist: DOD Ends Sale of Expended Military Brass to Remanufacturers

AND SO IT BEGINS...
We all wondered when it was going to start.
...
From now on, remanufacturers of military brass will not be able to buy surplus brass from DOD--actually from Government Liquidators, llc.--the corporation that sells surplus materials for the U.S. government. At least, not in any form recognizable as once-fired brass ammunition.

Now all brass ammunition will have to be shredded, and sold as scrap.

Georgia Arms, who brought this to our attention, is the 5th largest ammunition manufacturer of centerfire pistol and rifle ammunition in the U.S.

Be sure to go to The Shotist and read the whole sordid mess.

In short, the Obama Administration, instead of allowing fired brass (that's the empty cartridge case folks, not even a complete round of ammunition) to be sold, will now require it to be destroyed for scrap, making its value for reloading nil.

In the process the Administration is going to reduce the supply of brass for reloading, thus tightening an already straigned ammunition market that is already casuing scarcity due to increased mikitary need, increased police training and stockpiling, and increased stockpiling by civillian owners worrying about the admninistration pulling stuff like this.

So as a reuslt of this new ban, the price of ammunition will go up, manufactureres of reloaded ammo may go out of business due to lack of components for manufacturing, and the United States will LOSE money as scrap brass is sold for less than fired cartridge brass. Brilliant move all around if you want a nice machiavellian maneuver to harm gun owners and increase the cost and availability of ammunition without having to raise the issue in Congress and face the music for it.

As seen on, and hit tip to Instapundit.

More Cobo Follies 2

Now with more schemes than even stimulus bailouts!

New Cobo plan would raise Detroit's stake

The plan would first give Detroit another $15 million to sweeten the deal and 2 spots on the committee and Wayne County 2, leaving Oakland County, Macomb and the State with only 1. You can see the problem with that right? Have the suburbs and State kick in the money and then never get any accountability for it. What could possibly go wrong?

Oh yeah, the two state representatives, Reps. Shanelle Jackson and Rashida Tlaib are both (D-Detroit), now why didn't the Detroit Free press point out that little conflict of interest?

Oakland County's Executive L. Brooks Patterson is no fool and isn't falling for it (He's one of the main reasons why Oakland County, while facing a lot of challenges, isn't a total mess while Wayne and Detroit are (also one reason I don't want him running for governor, he's needed here, and needed badly):

The Detroit News:

It's a compromise Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson said Friday night he won't go along with.

"There's no way in hell we're going back to that plan (the seven-member board). That plan calls for two (representatives) for Wayne and two for Detroit. We're out-voted for the rest of my life," he said. "It's not going to happen. We had a deal. I don't want to return to the bargaining table after five years. I'm not sure others want to come back and renegotiate this deal (either)."

Quite simply if Detroit doesn't want to get bailed out and refuses to allow for any accountability, let them keep Cobo to themselves. Have Oakland and Macomb quit paying the hotel and liquor taxes towards that failure and direct them to the building of a new convention center. Build this new convention center outside of Detroit and away from its special costs and special interests, and closer to the Detroit/Wayne County Airport where there's room for a large world class facility on land that's pretty cheap right now and would be convenient for visitors to access, park and travel around safely. I bet it will cost less to build new and bigger than renovate Cobo, and there will be far more accountability and far less slippage than if the money is thrown at renovating Cobo.

More Cobo Follies

Some bad ideas just don't die.

Even after Detroit City Clown Council voted the deal down, there's still maneuvering going on to push it ahead.

As I wrote before, there's a push for Federal Stimulus Dollars to fix Cobo, and a federal bailout and fix-r-upper would prevent the City from giving up control of this tarnished "jewel".

Not surprisingly, the husband of Detroit City Council President Monica Conyers, US Rep John Conyers (D) is leading the push in Congress for this proposal.

U.S. Rep. John Conyers, D-Det., said that there is a chance that federal stimulus money could possibly be used to renovate and expand Cobo Center, an issue that has left state and local officials debating the future of the convention center.

“Where there is a will there’s a way,’’ Conyers told the Free Press after a rally today in support of a new deal for Cobo Center at Triumph Church in Detroit.

Detroit City Council rejected state approved legislation that would create a five member regional authority and pump $288 millions into Cobo Center for expansion and renovation. Mayor Ken Cockrel vetoed the council’s rejection. The council has sued in circuit court.....

Ah, federal dollars, nepotism, threats of court action, corruption and City Council clownery, does it get much better than this?

Lawfare against Michigan soldier fails and justice prevails

Detroit Free Press: Green Beret from Michigan not guilty of murder in Afghan’s death

A military jury has found a veteran Green Beret not guilty of premeditated murder and mutilation in the death of an Afghan man.

Army Special Forces Master Sgt. Joseph Newell of Tecumseh, Mich., was charged in the March 2008 shooting in southern Afghanistan’s Helmand province.

The 10-member jury began deliberating Wednesday after hearing nearly two hours of closing arguments.

Newell testified this week he shot the unidentified man twice with his rifle after the man lunged at him during questioning. Newell said he had stopped the suspected Taliban insurgent’s vehicle after it appeared he was watching the convoy and communicating with other Taliban.

Newell had faced a life sentence.

Good on the military jury for coming to the right result. The decision makers that put this soldier through a murder charge for self-defense in a combat zone need to get their PC rose-colored glasses off and be made to patrol for a month in the area where the incident occurred.

City Council Clowning Capers Concerning Cobo

That's the Detroit City Council, and its latest brilliant move, beclowning itself by vetoing a plan to make Cobo viable.

From The Detroit Free Press:

It took more than ordinary foolishness to turn down a deal that would have moved a negative-value asset like Cobo Hall off Detroit's books, preserved the city's say-so over its future, and leveraged regional money for a much needed upgrade and renovation.

But then, there's just nothing ordinary about the Detroit City Council.

Invoking twisted logic, outright falsehoods and shameless fear-mongering, five members of the council actually tanked the Cobo deal Tuesday while braying loudly about their fidelity to city interests.

It's about ownership, they said. It's about not "giving away" city assets. It's about making sure Detroiters have a strong enough say in Cobo's future.

Hogwash.....

The article goes on to note that this "jewel" of Detroit is costing the City at least $15 million a year not to mention Cobo is in bad need of maintenance that has been deferred by the city. Cobo also needs to be expanded to be competitive as a convention center. Detroit can't afford to do it alone, but instead of having to give up some control and have to provide accountability to others who are going to be ponying up serious cash Detroit City Council started playing the race card and rejected the deal.

Sort of like destroying the "jewel" in order to save it.

So what do these luminaries of the Detroit City Council now propose? -grab a share of the Stimulus money to be given to Detroit to expand Cobo, with no accountability of course.

The council did pass a new resolution, introduced by Conyers, to get federal stimulus funds to fund a $400 million expansion and upgrade for the city’s convention center.

It is to weep.

Ice isn't always safe to go on, but it may give us something new to dive on

Detroit Free Press: Deputy pulls self from icy Cass Lake after falling

An Oakland County Sheriff's deputy was able to pull himself out of Cass Lake after he fell while checking a sport-utility vehicle and snowmobile that had fallen through the ice Sunday.

...
After walking out onto the ice to verify no one was in the lake, the deputy fell through up to his shoulders on his way back to shore but was able to get out, according to sheriff's department reports.

Lucky for him and good to know he made it out ok. Flls through the ice can be life-threatening - cold water and difficulty getting out can be killers. Going on the ice now with all the thawing and refreezing thats been happening is a very dangerous

On the upside maybe I'll have something new to dive on once the season begins anew:

Both vehicles were still in the lake Sunday night, officials said this morning.

Mind you, I;m pretty sure they will pull them both out of the water before I get a chance to dive on them, especially if they are near the boat launch area. Its events like this that make me want to go to double tanks (for redundancy and safety under overhead enbvironments) and get my Ice diving certification.....

Sometimes you miss by a mile, but in the cause of Climate Change you miss

sometimes by 193,000 square miles.

As noted on Jerry Pournelle's Chaos Manor Current View (yes THE Jerry Pournelle):

Arctic Ice Extent Understated

It turns out that the National Snow and Ice Data Center has been hit with something called "sensor drift". This means that all their doom and gloom about the North Pole being ice free due to global warming is wrong. There is approximately 500,000 sq. kilometers (193,00 sq. miles) more ice than they previously thought. I guess the polar bears may not go extinct after all.

http://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/

Tim Boettcher

Apparently that whole Arctic ice is disappearing due to Global Warming / Climate Change / Humans breathing may be a little bit overstated, like much of the Global Warning data we've been fed to convince us that were in a crisis. For the next bit of alarmist news to come, it seem you need to expect the prediction is mistaken or overstating the reality of the situation by a similar large margin until proven otherwise.

Detroit needs what?

Featured Letter in the Detroit Free press: City needs a real Detroiter for mayor

And how's having had a "real" Detroiter been working out so far exactly?

Of course the letter is a hit against one of the candidates for Mayor of Detroit, Dave Bing, a successful businessman.

The letter begins:

Detroit is one of the jewels of the Midwest.

Ok, now pick yourself up off the floor, try to stop laughing, come on you can do it, and imagine the author of the article is real earnest about this, 'cause apparently she is.

Its diverse population, music festivals, RiverWalk, cultural opportunities, sports arenas, medical facilities and freeway system make it a city of opportunity.

Ok, we need some padding for that floor, that last laughing fall hurt.

The article's author is annoyed, if not outraged that Bing lives mainly in a nice suburb location as well as a condo on East Jefferson in Detroit.

Big bloody deal.

Look around, Detroit is falling to pieces, is rated as the most miserable city and this author bemoans that this mayoral candidate isn't "Detroit enough" (is that code for successful businessman - must be infected by "whiteness" perhaps?(Bing is Black by the way)).

Detroit needs someone competent, smart and business-like to try and pull it out of the death spiral its been twirling in since the days of Coleman Young. Maybe a mayor who isn't "Detroit enough" is exactly what the city needs.

The local talent has been lacking to say the least.

A modest proposal to save lives

'Suicide By Cop' Phenomenon Occurring In Over A Third Of North American Shootings Involving Police

ScienceDaily (Feb. 19, 2009) — “Suicide by Cop” (SBC) is a suicide method in which a person engages in actual or apparent danger to others in an attempt to get oneself killed or injured by law enforcement. A new study in the Journal of Forensic Sciences examined the prevalence of this phenomenon among a large sample of officer-involved shootings.

Results show that SBC occurs at extremely high rates, with 36 percent of all shootings being categorized as SBC. The findings confirm the growing incidence of this method of suicide, with SBC cases more likely to result in the death or injury of the subjects 50 percent of the time.

. . .

SBC was found to occur at a momentous rate among officer-involved shooting cases. The fact that 36 percent of all shootings in the sample could be categorized as SBC underscores the significance of suicidal impulses among those who become involved in shootings and other uses of force with police officers.

The study also verifies that suicidal individuals can in fact threaten, injure, and kill others in their quest to commit suicide. These individuals are quite lethal to themselves, with a 97 percent likelihood of being injured or killed. There was a one in three chance of others being harmed during the incident.
....

Since 36% of all police shootings according to this study are due to "SBC", there's only one thing to do to save lives.

Ban Police of course, if it saves just one life its worth it. The prevention of all these suicides by cop is a worthy goal, and if there were no cops, there could of course be no suicide by cop.

Discuss.

Points will be given for pointing out the blatant logical fallacy of this proposal.

For even more bonus points, name that item for which people seriously argue, with a straight face, that such a ban on said item would save lives.
.
.
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Note: The author of this blog does not advocating banning police, after all some of his best friends are cops.

Holder on a minute!

Holder: US is nation of cowards on racial matters

By DEVLIN BARRETT Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - Attorney General Eric Holder described the United States Wednesday as a nation of cowards on matters of race, saying most Americans avoid discussing unresolved racial issues.

In a speech to Justice Department employees marking Black History Month, Holder said the workplace is largely integrated but Americans still self-segregate on the weekends and in their private lives.

"Though this nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melting pot, in things racial we have always been and continue to be, in too many ways, essentially a nation of cowards," said Holder, nation's first black attorney general.

Oh come on seriously? -- a nation of cowards regarding race -- as if. Did Holder miss some reality while he was busy pardoning Mark Rich or something? Anyone checked the news on a recent presidential election, not to mention an Illinois Senator appointment and a recent Attorney general appointment? Not to mention the advance of civil rights in this country? Damn cowards all, must be.

Race issues continue to be a topic of political discussion, Holder said, but "we, as average Americans, simply do not talk enough with each other about race."

He urged people of all races to use Black History Month as a chance for frank talk about racial matters.

Around the fire with a guitarist strumming Kumbaya in the background no doubt. Newsflash, unlike the political class, race is not the all-consuming burning issue of the day. Most of us get on just fine with friends who happen to be of other races, thank you very much, and we typically don't start every conersation with them about race relations in America - we generally start with "Hey howzit going?", move on to how our favorite sport team did or didn't do last night, maybe chat about the hole this economy keeps slipping into, and then move on to productive and enjoyable conversation.

"It is an issue we have never been at ease with and, given our nation's history, this is in some ways understandable," Holder said. "If we are to make progress in this area, we must feel comfortable enough with one another and tolerant enough of each other to have frank conversations about the racial matters that continue to divide us."

Yet another Newsflash, most people don't talk about race because Democrats like Holder have been so busy making the conversation so fraught with taboo and risk of being called a racist if you don't buy the party line, that honest conversation can be hard to come by.

He told Justice Department employees they have a special responsibility to advance racial understanding.

One would think they have a special responsibility in not so much racial understanding but how about (gasp) enforcement of the law (maybe start with going after some notables who have failed to pay their taxes as of late), after all its the Department of Justice, not the Department of Racial Grievances and Hand-Holding.

Not yet at least.

LaSalle's Griffon found? - It may take a court battle to find out

Detroit News: Diver, France fight state over right to salvage historic vessel in Lake Michigan

Steve Libert went looking for buried treasure but may have found something nearly as valuable -- history.

He stumbled upon what he believes is the most important archeological find in Michigan history, the 330-year-old Griffon shipwreck. The long-sought vessel sailed by famed French explorer La Salle was one of the first ships to cross the Great Lakes.

But like Robert La Salle, another star-crossed adventurer who searched for one thing but found another, Libert's quest has encountered turbulent waters.

He's fighting Michigan over the right to salvage the shipwreck's watery grave in northern Lake Michigan. France joined the fray Jan. 30 by staking claim to the site.

The sea skirmish carries heavy repercussions in Michigan, which borders four Great Lakes and has more coastline, 3,165 miles, than any state but Alaska. A federal law that gives Michigan ownership of 1,500 shipwrecks in state waters discourages entrepreneurs from discovering the vessels and their rich history, divers said.

"This is one of the most sought-after ships in the world," Libert said. "The state should be working with us, not against us."

The Griffon shows the folly of the federal rule, said divers.

If it wasn't for Libert, the prized ship would have remained buried under three centuries of sand, silt and history, they said.

Its possible discovery could open a long-shuttered hatch to the earliest days of the European settlers, helping researchers learn what the times and people were like by providing a snapshot of the era.
Federal law defended

But state officials defend the federal law, saying it allows Michigan to protect the shipwrecks from being plundered by profiteers. "They shouldn't be plucked for profit," said Matt Frendewey, a spokesman for the Michigan Attorney General's Office. "They should be protected so future generations can enjoy them."

Never mind that without Libert, no one would even know it was there to be protected.

. . .
Despite its modest attributes, the importance of the Griffon was shown by the discovery of another La Salle ship off the coast of Texas in 1995.

The Belle, which sank seven years after the Griffon, yielded a rich bounty, a million artifacts that allow researchers to reach across 300 years of history.

Among the items: skeletal remains, brass Jesuit rings, wooden lice combs, three-pronged forks, an unbroken wine bottle, three bronze cannons with the crest of King Louis XIV.

"The Griffon is the jewel of the shipwreck search community," said Wayne Lusardi, Michigan's maritime archaeologist. "Many people have been looking for it many years."

Finding the Holy Grail of shipwrecks was hardly on Libert's mind when he began scuba diving 30 years ago.

An intelligence analyst with the Navy, the 55-year-old resident of Herndon, Va., near Washington, once searched for wrecks of ships that carried gold.

Always intrigued by the long-lost Griffon, he began reading the journals of a La Salle associate and believed the ship had foundered somewhere off the coast of Escanaba in the Upper Peninsula.

Diving near Escanaba in 2001, Libert was swimming through water so murky that visibility was 3 inches.

Nearly 100 feet below the surface, he bumped into a wooden pole protruding from the lake bottom.

"I had my hands out, like I was walking in the dark, when suddenly I hit this thing," he said. "I couldn't figure out what it was."

He now believes the mussel-covered timber is the bow tip of the Griffon.

He retrieved a thumb-sized sliver of the wood and conducted a carbon-dating test, which showed a 33 percent chance that it came from the 17th century.
Dispute drags on

When Libert tried to win the right to salvage the Griffon, he ignited a turf battle with Michigan that has been as tempestuous as any Lake Superior gale. The state says federal law gives it ownership over shipwrecks in its waters.

Libert said international law awards possession to the owner, which would be France because the ship sailed on behalf of the French crown. He has France's permission to salvage the site.

During a four-year legal battle in federal court, a judge has tried to get Libert and Michigan to work together on identifying the ship.

But working together is the last thing on their minds.

Libert surrendered the wood sliver to Michigan only after the state threatened to obtain a federal warrant against him. He told the state the location of the wreck only after being ordered to do so by the federal judge.

As for Michigan, it threatened to charge Libert with a crime if he extracted any more material from the wreckage.

State has doubts

After examining the site in October, the state said it found only the wooden pole and doubts the Griffon is there.

If they doubt it is really there, then what claim can they make to prevent Libert from exploring the site?

During the fight, Libert has enlisted a growing number of allies, including France, the city of Charlevoix and the Field Museum in Chicago.

"I'm at the point where I'm now on the attack," he said. "I won't sit back anymore."

Good luck to Liebert, it's hard fighting against an organization with unlimited resources but with luck he will have found the historic Griffon. Assuming it is the Griffon, Liebert will have made history with this find.

Obama asks the Islamic World to unclench its fist....

and gets bitch-slapped for his trouble.

Breitbart.com: Iran says Obama's offer to talk shows US failure

US President Barack Obama's offer to talk to Iran shows that America's policy of "domination" has failed, the government spokesman said on Saturday.

"This request means Western ideology has become passive, that capitalist thought and the system of domination have failed," Gholam Hossein Elham was quoted as saying by the Mehr news agency.

"Negotiation is secondary, the main issue is that there is no way but for (the United States) to change," he added.

After nearly three decades of severed ties, Obama said shortly after taking office this month that he is willing to extend a diplomatic hand to Tehran if the Islamic republic is ready to "unclench its fist".

In response, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad launched a fresh tirade against the United States, demanding an apology for its "crimes" against Iran and saying he expected "deep and fundamental" change from Obama.

Iranian politicians frequently refer to the US administration as the "global arrogance", "domineering power" and "Great Satan".

That's gonna leave a mark.

Now they bring up the question.....

The Detroit Free Press: Will Chicago politics taint the White House?

No serious mention of this before the election in our fine Detroit Free Press.

Heck the article even begins:

Now that Barack Obama has been sworn in as our 44th president, one has to ask how much Windy City politics will influence our new chief executive.

Welcome to the party pal, too bad it took you so long to arrive.

And Speaking of Road Infrastructure

Michigan is not keeping up with snow clearance on the roads this winter.

The Detroit News Editorial: Find more money to keep roads safe

Cutting municipal budgets is a necessity when revenue declines. But public safety shouldn't be put at risk as a result. That's what's happening this winter -- the harshest in recent years -- as counties in Michigan trim back plowing and salting roads to save money.

This has been an unusually cold and snowy winter. The National Weather Service says Metro Detroit has already seen 45 inches of snow, almost double the normal 25 inches, and it's not even February.

So it's understandable that commutes are more challenging. But the tougher road conditions have not been matched with an increase in snow plows and salt.

No kidding. Our street, while a tertiary one, has rarely seen a plow come by (we've lucked out that at the botton of the hill, we have a guy who has a truck come plow his driveway and the truck makes a one-way lane all the way down the road as he goes. As a result you'll see clean driveways but a good layer of ice and snow still on the road, so much so that you have to go to the bottom of the hill and make a running start to get off the street unless you have four wheel drive.

But that could be understood, it sucks but we can deal with it.

The problem is the more major roads in Oakland and Wayne and Macomb Counties that I've traveled on are still slick and snowy - including Telegraph and Woodward as well as the parallel mile roads that make getting around quite hazardous.

Snow removal and road safety is a core government function, if they can't do that well, its a major problem. It's not as if they don't know that it snows here in Michigan in the winter with regularity, and that we get slick and icy roads as a result.

Indeed its a transfer of spending, and a false saving by cutting back on this service. Instead of the government having to keep up keeping the roads clean with the costs it entails, drivers have costs to pay in lost time, car damage and even injury.

Omnibus Stimulus Democratus Constituentus

When you look at the Obama stimulus plan, touted to cure the current national economic ills, it seems less an economic stimulus and more a handout for every possible Democrat constituency and power group, not to mention bailing out states, the Democrat run ones getting the most money, for balancing their budgets after they've overspent.

At Read The Stimulus.org, you can see for yourself the sausage from which laws are made. There's enough pork in this particular sausage for every Democrat and a few "tax cuts" thrown in to try and woo Republicans.

For all the cries of urgency, only about 20% of the monies planned to be spent in the bill would actually be outlayed in 2009. In other words, its not about stimulus its about apportioning the spoils of an election won amongst Democrat supporters and readying them for the next round of elections.

The bill is less a stimulus than a wish-list for just about every Democrat program imaginable and while it will certainly put the Democrats in the position of constantly doling out the most largess to keep in power, it won't help the economy, will likely make it worse by inflation and the starving of capital from the private sector as the public sector becomes awash in funds. Heck, only a small amount is even going to repair roads and infrastructure.

On the upside this may finally teach Republicans that they really can't spend like Democrats do, no matter how much they try, and hopefully they'll get back to being the party for smaller, less intrusive but effective government.

A Trial Victory for the Good Guys

It's nice to know you're on the side of right when you walk into a courtroom to settle a dispute at trial.

We represented elderly parents who sold their son their house, keeping a life estate for themselves. Of course they didn't have a lawyer draw it up, the son, a financial planner did, and the contract only vaguely lays out the terms.

You can guess what happened right?

The son after a while gets greedy, wants the property right away and has them sign a deed under interesting circumstances, a deed that doesn't mention the life estate.

The son then kicks his parents out of the house, and claims there never was a life estate.

Thankfully, the son was quite greedy and didn't want to pay more taxes on the property so before he kicked them out, but after he gets the deed, he files a Michigan tax exemption after he gets the deed, claiming his parents are co-owners so the property is exempt and didn't transfer so it shouldn't uncap and have a property tax increase.

He then writes a few letters to the Treasury when they question the exemption and states in it that they do have a life estate. He then claims he was just told to say this to avoid taxes and it doesn't really mean it is true. Anyone out there buy that claim?

The Judge didn't buy that either.

We (the partner and myself on the file) got the house back for the parents for them to have as their life estate, putting them where they should be under the terms of the sale. It was a very happy moment for them and it felt good to win it, I can tell you that.

A cautionary note: whenever serious money or property is involved in a deal, even among family members, its best that you spend a few dollars on having a lawyer review the deal and make sure your intent is fully spelled out in the contract. This saves a lot of grief and serious attorney fees later. Everything may be great when you start the deal, but serious money can bring serious complications and risks.

New Revisions to Michigan's Concealed Pistol Laws

Some new changes have now been implemented to Michigan's statutes regarding the carrying of concealed firearms by the law abiding.

First a change that will affect very few (as reported in the Lansing State Journal: Mich. judges get weapons leeway under new law

Judges in Michigan who have concealed carry permits may now carry their pistols into the zones that are pistol-free zones such as schools, stadiums, hospitals, daycare centers, entertainment facilities that seat more than 2500 people, and bars (at least these are pistol-free from law abiding citizens).

I can understand the rationale, as Judges often deal with criminals who may wish to get back at them, and the criminals are not exactly respectful of judges and might assault them in such areas or the law regarding firearms in such zones.

The same rationale should apply to all law abiding citizens and these zones should be removed and every law abiding citizen should be permitted to similarly enter such places while carrying firearms without penalty. Indeed, if fear of crime is the problem, change the law to make it a felony with a penalty og up to 5 years in jail for any felon to carry a firearm into those places (in addition to the felon in possession law already in place).

Now for a more far reaching change regarding the registration of handguns: Public Act 194 of 2008 just went into effect. This act changes the registration prcess for pistols, does away with the former end product of registration, the "Safety inspection certificate" and is a bit confusing.

Effective now, when you purchase a firearm without a permit, you will go to your local police and get a 4 part (formerly 3 part) purchase permit.

If you have a Concealed pistol license, you can buy a pistol with your licenses.

After purchase, in both cases, the new revised RI 60 Form (available in .pdf at the link) must be filled out. The seller keeps one copy, the buyer must either personally deliver or mail by regular or certified mail two of the forms back to their local police and keep the third form with the pistol (if carried the form must be with the pistol or still with the pistol if not carried) for 30 days. The law now adds that in order to posses a pistol, it must be registered to you by the above steps, which is a new and burdensome requirement.

This seems like the legislature started to get rid of the burdensome and rather useless registration scheme that has been in effect in Michigan for quite some time, during which it has had no provable deterrent effect on firearms crime. But then, for some reason, the legislature punted and went to a half-way measure rather than eliminating the flawed system in toto.

So we now have a hybrid monster of registration, with a problem of proof that the buyer did return the forms to the local police agency within 10 days of purchase. If the buyer fails to do so, it is a civil infraction with a $250 fine.

Under the old system, the proof you had sent the purchase info back to your local police was the inspection certificate (green card) you got back after bringing the pistol and purchase permit or RI60 to your local police. Now since you can mail by regular mail, or drop the 2 copies of the form in person, proof that you did so may be harder to find, and thus expose law abiding firearms owners to a $250 fine. By adding the requirement that the purchase form must be carried with the pistol for 30 days, it similarly creates a new potential for a pistol buyer to find themselves in violation if they forget to do so.

In addition, the law now adds "motor carrier officers [officers who enforce laws relating to commercial truckers and other motor carriers] and "security personnel employed by the state" in Lansing or Windsor Township, Eaton County, to the definition of peace officers who must be immediately informed the CPL holder is carrying a firearm if stopped by these officers and security personnel.

This new act is hopefully a half-way measure that will be further revised and fixed. As it currently stands, it is not a great improvement in firearms law and neither fixes any real presenting problem nor really corrects some of the existing flaws in Michigan's firearms laws. However, its now the law, so it needs to be carefully followed by the law abiding firearms owners of Michigan.

The Muslim way of War

After Hamas launched Mortars from a school, Israel responded, leading to the school exploding from charges that had been placed there by Hamas, and of course dead children. Little Green Footballs: UN School Used by Terrorists As a Weapons Dump

The use of schools, hospitals and Mosques by Muslims as as weapons stores, firing points and locations for ambushes is nothing new, and not unique to the Arab-Israeli conflict, and indeed goes back centuries.

One of the first recorded uses of a mosque as a weapons dump was in 1687. The Turkish armies, in control of Athens at the time, used the Parthenon, which had been converted into a mosque, as a gunpowder magazine. The Turks were fighting the Venetians, and when a Venetian shell hit the Parthenon, blowing up a good portion of it.

In 1948, Arab snipers shot at Jewish civilians from the minaret of theHassan Bek mosque during the 1948 Israeli War of Independence.

In Iraq, US forces have faced Muslims firing from Mosques, and have seen Mosques used as command posts and weapons storage. of course, whenever US forces fire back or even enter the Mosques, they are condemned for invading sacred Islamic space. See this interesting paper on the subject: At the Horns of the Altar: Just War and Sacred Space in Iraq

As before, Arabs in Gaza have been using Mosques as weapons dumps and firing points, not to mention using hospitals and mosques as command post and of course, schools.

The West, with a military code of honor that eschews using religious, hospital, ambulances, and schools as military fortifications is subject to Muslim cries of outrages destruction of these sites, even as the Muslims fiendishly use them for military purposes, which is in itself a war crime.

Until the western media accurately report the facts, namely that the these buildings were used for military purposes and destroyed in response, and properly attribute the blame upon the Muslims for using them for military purposes, Muslims will continue to fight in this manner, gaining both the utility of the sites, the protection of western hesitation to respond to attacks from such sites, and the beenfit of the western media's blind acceptance and rebroadcasting of the Muslims "outrage" over destruction of these militarily used sites. Indeed, for the media to continue to do so constitutes journalistic malpractice.

Senatorial Race in Minnesota not just within the Margin of error

It's now well within the Margin of Fraud.

As the Minnesota State Canvassing Board hands the election to Democrat Al Franken, the questions over the recounts selective techniques mount up.

In Shameless. Dems Steal Minnesota Senate Seat From Coleman Gateway Pundit points out that as reported in the Wall Street Journal that

more than 25 precincts now have more ballots than voters who signed in to vote...

And its not just a few votes, for example one county precinct alone had 177 more votes than voters.

At that point, with all these irregularities in the recount, replete with found and reinterpreted ballots its fraud. To even consider counting ballots when there are more ballots than voters is ludicrous, and a gift of ACORN of the election to Franken.

Lagniappe's lair also has a good article on this: Dems appear likely to seat "Senator Vote Fraud"

Indeed, regardless of the fraud, the Democrats will brazenly declare Franken the victor and urge everyone to "move on" now the damage has been done.

At this point a new election should be held, with non-Minnesotans acting as monitors and counters. Cheat and win should never be an American election slogan.

Neat find of Gold Coins in Israel

Israeli archaeologists find rare gold coins

This was reported back on December 23, but I'm just seeing it now.

Talk about a find of a lifetime by the volunteer:

Nadine Ross, a British archaeological volunteer, happened onto the coins during the dig just below the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem.

And quite a find it is:

The Israel Antiquities Authority reported a thrilling find Sunday -- the discovery of 264 ancient gold coins in Jerusalem National Park.

The coins were minted during the early 7th century.

"This is one of the largest and most impressive coin hoards ever discovered in Jerusalem -- certainly the largest and most important of its period," said Doron Ben-Ami and Yana Tchekhanovets, who are directing the excavation on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority.

Researchers discovered the coins at the beginning of the eight-day Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, which started at sunset on Sunday.

One of the customs of the holiday is to give "gelt," or coins, to children, and the archaeologists are referring to the find as "Hanukkah money."

The coins are of the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius

From the description, the coins are gold solidi (singular solidus) and probably look like this:
A great historical discovery, a find of a hidden hoard of wealth secreted away over a thousand years ago.

Interesting Archaeological find in Germany

A Roman-Germanic Battlefield has been found.

CNN: German battlefield yields Roman surprises

Its not the site of the battle where the Germans in the time of Augustus when in 9 C.E. they defeated P. Quinctilius Varus and destroyed three Roman legions, but a later battle, in the third century C.E.

Archaeologists have found more than 600 relics from a huge battle between a Roman army and Barbarians in the third century, long after historians believed Rome had given up control of northern Germany.
"We have to write our history books new, because what we thought was that the activities of the Romans ended at nine or 10 (years) after Christ," said Lutz Stratmann, science minister for the German state of Lower Saxony. "Now we know that it must be 200 or 250 after that."

For weeks, archeologist Petra Loenne and her team have been searching this area with metal detectors, pulling hundreds of ancient Roman weapons out of the ground. They paint a picture of a highly organized, technologically superior Roman army beset by Germanic tribes in a forest about 80 km (50 miles) south of the modern city of Hanover.

The hillside battlefield was discovered by relic-hunters illegally searching for souvenirs of more recent wars near the town of Kalefeld-Oldenrode. One of them brought some of the items he found to Loenne, who works for the local government.

The artifacts are so well preserved that the scientists can already retrace some of the battle lines. Video Watch how the battlefield discovery could re-write history »

"We believe the Germans ambushed the Romans here, but the legions quickly fired back with catapults and archers -- and then it came to a massive man-on-man onslaught," Loenne said.

The items unearthed so far include an axe, still sharp after nearly 1,800 years; horseshoes; shovels; spearheads; and dozens of arrowheads for a Scorpio, a cross between a catapult and a crossbow -- the ancient equivalent of artillery.

Coins were also found, from the reign of the Roman Emperor Commodus (161-192 C.E.), which aids in identifying the time period of the battle. The coins, coupled with the Roman armor and weaponry they are recovering should help give a good estimate as to when the battle was fought.

A very interesting find, and as the archaerlogist quoted in the CNN article notes, one that will revise our knowledge of the extent and influence of the Roman Empire in the third century.

Israeli Defense Forces soldiers enter Gaza 2

IDF is entering the Gaza strip with at least three brigades, cutting it in half and isolating Gaza city.

Detroit News:

Israeli ground troops and tanks cut swaths through the Gaza Strip early Sunday, bisecting the coastal territory and surrounding its biggest city as the new phase of a devastating offensive against Hamas gained momentum.

Thousands of soldiers in three brigade-size formations pushed into Gaza after nightfall Saturday, beginning a long-awaited ground offensive after a week of intense aerial bombardment. Black smoke billowed over Gaza City at first light and bursts of machine gun fire rang out. ... An armored force south of Gaza City penetrated as deep as the abandoned settlement of Netzarim, which Israel left along with other Israeli communities when it pulled out of Gaza in 2005, both military officials and Palestinian witnesses said.

That move effectively cut off Gaza City, the territory's largest population center with about 400,000 people, from the rest of the territory to the south.

The offensive focused on northern Gaza, where most of the rockets are fired into Israel, but at least one incursion was reported in the southern part of the strip. Hamas uses smuggling tunnels along the southern border with Egypt to bring in weapons.

And of course our local useful idiots and islamists are busy protesting:
Mideast conflict troubles Metro Detroiters

Palestinians in Metro Detroit have held a series of protests this week, including one at Maple and Orchard Lake in West Bloomfield that drew more than 200 people by mid-afternoon Saturday.

"Everybody deserves to live, whoever they are," said David Salha of Dearborn as he watched his 9-year-old daughter Hannan hold up a protest sign Saturday. "What (Israel) is doing is not justified."

Don Greenspon, a 58-year-old Huntington Woods man who said he is Jewish and a supporter of Jewish Voice for Peace in Detroit (The leading band of Jewish useful idiots in the area), said he does not support Israel's advance into Gaza. He attended Saturday's rally.

"I think what Israel is doing is completely wrong," he said.

"I am not for the rocket attacks into Israel (by Hamas). But I think the response is disproportionate."

Anyone ever ask these fools what a proportionate response would look like? Perhaps an MLRS full pod rocket dump for every Hamas missile fired? Methinks it would cause far more Gazan casualties, but at least it would be proportionate right?

Israeli Defense Forces soldiers enter Gaza

From Yahoo News: Israeli ground forces enter Gaza in escalation

Israel's military says ground forces are crossing the Gaza border in an escalation of Israel's week-old offensive against the territory's militant Hamas rulers.

Israeli TV channels are broadcasting images of troops marching into Gaza after nightfall. The military confirmed a ground operation was under way.

Defense officials say around 10,000 soldiers have massed along the border in recent days.

Given that Israel will not be able to stop the rocket attacks by air power alone, it was inevitable that a ground incursion would occur if any real peace was to occur. Otherwise, Hamas would claim victory by simply existing and maintaining its ability to fire rockets at Israeli civilians and the cynical "cycle of violence" so beloved of the the west's moral equivalent crowds would continue.

Israel also needs to quit phoning in warnings to targets that the buildings they are in are about to get hit. Bombing an empty building, while sending a message, isn't nearly as effective as killing the terrorists as they reside there.

The phone calls and the uncredible providing of humanitarian aid by UIsrael to gaza while the fighting continues (has any other side in a conflict done this -- supplied food and medical and other supplies to their enemies while in the midst of battle -ever?)have failed to win Israel the European Union / Leftist stamp of approval, but that was unlikely to occur in any case.

Israel has a limited opportunity to strike hard and decisively before a cease-fire is forced upon it to save Hamas. Here's to hoping the IDF makes good use of the limited time they have to strike hard enough so that Hamas knows its beaten and to restore the IDF's deterrent effect that has been badly weakened these past few years.

Iraqi Spies Caught in US now how about Iran's?

The Detroit News reports on a group of Michigan Iraqi's that are being tried for passing on intelligence and spying for Iraq.

Among the accused spies is one who worked for the US Military as an Arabic translator:

Issam George Hamama, 58, a former Sterling Heights resident who lives in California, worked as an Iraqi translator for the U.S. military until the indictment against him was unsealed in November.

Hamama allegedly wrote a letter about 1991 to an Iraqi cabinet minister, offering to work to counteract Iraqi traitors in the U.S. From that date, Hamama met periodically with representatives of the Iraqi Intelligence Service and received periodic payments for providing information about anti-Saddam individuals and groups inside the United States, the indictment alleges.

Hamama's Washington, D.C., attorney, Haytham Faraj, said Hamama has received "multiple accolades" from military commanders for his work as a civilian translator. "We are confident that the evidence will vindicate Mr. Hamama as the honorable, patriotic, loyal American that he is," Faraj said.

Sure, did he get the acolades after it was revealed he was a spy or before? I'm sure people thought Walker and Aldrick Ames were great Americans too until the truth came out.

It's good the FBI caught these iraqi spies, but they found them only from documents found after the downfall of Saddam, and thus after their active use by the Iraqis.

One hopes they are being more diligent with Hizballah, Hamas and Iranian spies and agents of influence that are active here and now.

Another fun tidbit from the article:

Muthanna Al-Hanooti, 49, a former official of the Southfield-based Muslim charity Life for Relief and Development, was indicted on conspiracy and other charges in March. He is accused of working with Iraqi intelligence officials to get the U.S. to lift economic sanctions and organizing a trip to Iraq by former U.S. Rep. David Bonior and other congressmen that was secretly funded by the Iraqi Intelligence Service. He is from Dearborn Heights.

A little digging shows this was the trip the three Democrat Congressmen: McDermott (D-Seattle-Useful idiot), David Bonior (D-used to be Michigan, Useful Idiot) and Mike Thompson (D-California-Useful idiot took to Iraq, paid for by a "concerned Iraqi" - and the Iraqi intelligence service.

Ware on the way out?

As I blogged before on Jewel Ware, the Wayne County Councilwoman (Democrat - of course)who is under investigation for having felons on the payroll, and for paying them for work performed for her husband, not the County.

Apparently she's packing up her office as Chair of the commission. No if she'll actually resign from the Commission itself or follow the standard Wayne county fashion of denial, obfuscation, race-card playing and delays until the end is an assured conclusion.

From the Detroit News

The chair, who is elected by the commission to serve a two-year term, is one of the most visible elected officials in the county, overseeing a $2.2 billion budget and setting policy on everything from parks to mental health initiatives. Commissioners make about $68,676, but receive an extra $12,000 as chair and an office about the size of Executive Robert Ficano's.

Ware cleaned out that office over the holidays, staffers confirmed.

Tuesday's vote on the commission's chair follows last month's release of a 79-page report by Auditor General Willie Mayo, who faulted Ware for to keep tabs on the commission's $9.4 million payroll and 72 employees.

The report found that Ware's bookkeeping was so sloppy that Mayo couldn't conclusively prove accusations involving no-show employees. But he wrote that he could find no paperwork that showed ex-convicts who worked for free at Morton's Motel in Idlewild did any work for the county. One of them, although listed as a central staffer, was rarely in the office, the report found.

In a letter to colleagues, Ware denied most of the accusations and blamed the controversy on "Anonymous Robin Hood," whose unsigned letter detailing the accusations sparked the investigation from the auditor, FBI, State Police and agents for the state attorney general.

Ware disputed other claims in the report, including her use of a county car for 27 days and its characterization of the work by onetime county employee Kwasi Akwamu, whom Ware said deserved his $83,000 salary. Akwamu, an ex-convict, did time with Ware's husband, Jesse Long-Bey, who owns Morton's Motel and went to prison for manslaughter. He no longer works for the county.

My prediction: She gives up the Chair, keeps a low profile for a bit but keeps right on going on the Wayne County Commission or moves to another public office.

Brady Campaign "Grading" fails to match reality

As if we didn't know that already.

But the stark comparison of reality to the Brady Campaign's deranged grading system (where less gun control, rather than less crime is the negative grading criteria) is beautifully reported at Of Arms and the Law:

The Brady Campaign ranks North Dakota 44th out of 50 States, with only 4 of 100 possible points.

Just in time for the North Dakota Attorney General to announce that in 2008 the State had ZERO gun homicides. And only two homicides at all, both stabbings.

Apparently impressively low gun homicide rates get you a failing grade from the Brady Campaign.

Impressive example of gun banner phobias failing to reflect reality. If you read their state law criteria the deceptive description of each of their standards is quite an impressive example of propaganda and the misuse of language.