Guns OK to carry in Hillsdale County Couthouse

HILLSDALE, Mich. (AP) — As far as Circuit Judge Michael Smith is concerned, it’s perfectly legal for visitors to the Hillsdale County Courthouse to carry guns.

Smith says signs prohibiting firearms in the courthouse were taken down about a month ago.

Smith tells the Hillsdale Daily News that courthouses are not exempt from state concealed weapon laws, so there’s no way to lawfully stop people from carrying a concealed weapon if they’re licensed properly.

List of Michigan Casualties in Afghanistan

6/19/2008, 10:32 p.m. EDT The Associated Press

(AP) — Members of the U.S. armed forces with known Michigan ties who died supporting military operations in Afghanistan:

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_Air Force Tech. Sgt. John Chapman, 36, a commando, died March 4, 2002, after his helicopter came under attack by al-Qaida and Taliban fighters. He was killed while trying to retrieve the body of a fellow airman who had fallen from a helicopter during the attack. The Windsor Locks, Conn., resident’s father, Eugene, lived in Belding.

Senior Airman Jason Plite, 21, of Grand Ledge, died March 23, 2003, when his helicopter crashed during a flight to evacuate two children with life-threatening head injuries.

 

_Air Force Tech. Sgt. Howard A. Walters, 33, of Port Huron, an aerial gunner, died Nov. 23, 2003, when his Air Force Special Forces helicopter broke up after a hard landing on a rocky river bank nine miles east of Bagram Air Base.

_Army Sgt. Robert P. Kassin, 29, a Flint native who grew up in Clovis, N.M., died July 16, 2006, when his platoon came under fire near Larzab.

_Army Pvt. Joseph R. Blake, 34, a Michigan native of Portland, Ore., died Aug. 17, 2006, from small-arms fire. Blake, whose parents live in Livonia, was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y.

_Army Sgt. Jeremy E. DePottey, 26, of Ironwood, died Sept. 11, 2006, in Asadabad of injuries suffered in a single vehicle accident. DePottey was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y.

_Army Maj. Douglas E. Sloan, 40, who grew up in Charlevoix, died Oct. 31, 2006, of injuries sustained in a roadside bombing, his family said. Sloan was assigned to the 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y.

_Army Col. James W. Harrison, 47, a 1977 graduate of Oscoda High School, died May 6, 2007 when he was shot by an Afghan soldier at a prison 20 miles east of Kabul. The Missouri resident, whose parents live in Montrose, was serving as a detention policy expert with the Combined Forces Command Afghanistan.

_Army Pfc. Joseph A. Miracle, 22, of Ortonville, died July 5, 2007 of wounds sustained from enemy small arms fire and indirect fire in the Watapor Valley of Kunar province. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 503d Infantry Regiment (Airborne), 173d Airborne Brigade based in Vicenza, Italy.

_Army Pfc. Jordan E. Goode, 21, of Kalamazoo, died Aug. 11, 2007 from injuries suffered when a roadside bomb exploded beneath the truck he was driving in Zormont. He was assigned to the 4th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, N.C.

_Army Sgt. 1st Class Matthew D. Blaskowski, 27, a 1998 Cheboygan Area High School graduate whose parents live in Cheboygan County, died Sept. 23, 2007 in Asadabad of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using small arms fire during combat operations. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion (Airborne), 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team at Vicenza, Italy.

_Marine Sgt. Phillip A. Bocks, 28, of Troy, died Nov. 9, 2007, while conducting combat operations in Aranus. He was assigned to the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center, Bridgeport, Calif.

_Army Pfc. Joseph M. Lancour, 21, of Swartz Creek, died Nov. 10, 2007, the day after his patrol was attacked in Aranus. The Ludington native was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 503rd Airborne Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team based in Vicenza, Italy.

_Army Pfc. Antione V. Robinson, 20, of Detroit, died March 19, 2008 in Nawa, of injuries sustained when the vehicle he was repairing collapsed. He was assigned to the 782nd Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, N.C.

_Navy Petty Officer Ross L. Toles III, of Davison, died June 18, 2008 of wounds suffered in a rocket attack in Paktika province. He was assigned to Provincial Reconstruction Team Sharana in Afghanistan.

Lights out for Global Warming

A proposal making its way through the Legislature would ban the sale of all incandescent bulbs by 2012, two years earlier than newly mandated federal requirements.

It’s part of a series of environmental bills being considered by the Senate.

Alternatives, such as compact fluorescent lamps and light-emitting diode (LED) lamps, are far more energy-efficient than the incandescent bulbs that have been used for more than 100 years.

Sen. John Gleason, D-Flushing, the bill’s sole sponsor, said having consumers make the change is a “small sacrifice” that could save a lot of money.

Gleason also said he’s concerned about global climate change, and switching to more efficient bulbs would help the environment significantly.

But not everyone is excited about ditching the old-style bulbs.

Alternative types of bulbs are rated to last longer, but they’re typically more expensive. Additionally, disposing of compact fluorescent lamps can be difficult because they contain mercury, a toxic substance.

Mike Abbo, the owner of Murray Lighting and Electrical Supply Co. in Detroit, said he disapproves of the measure because many customers want to continue using the cheaper incandescent bulbs.

“Some people still prefer them. It’s an issue of choice, really,” Abbo said.

Abbo said that sales of compact fluorescent lamps have gone up but still don’t match sales of incandescent bulbs.

Abbo also pointed out that some fixtures, such as electric chandeliers, use special bulbs that don’t have a non-incandescent replacement available.

The United Kingdom, Canada and several other nations have proposed bans on the bulbs.

In the U.S., the sale of most regular incandescent bulbs will be phased out by 2014 as part of a 2007 law.

The proposed Michigan law would bump up the state’s switch deadline.

The bill is awaiting debate in the Senate Energy Policy and Public Utilities Committee.

QUESTION: Senator Gleason, where is your ‘proof’ that a significant change in the environment regarding global warming is produced by light bulbs?
This ’small sacrifice’ you are talking about; when have Michiganders sacrificed enough for failed policies of economics and increased governmental control? Isn’t job loss and over $4.00 per gallon enough? Double heating bills since 3 years ago, isn’t enough?

Armed customer prevents bank robbery

Armed customer stops bank robber in Wayne County
6/17/2008, 10:45 p.m. EDTThe Associated Press

CANTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — Western Wayne County authorities say a gun-toting Comerica Bank customer foiled an attempted robbery.

Fifty-three-year-old Joseph Webster of Washtenaw County was arraigned Tuesday in 35th District Court on bank robbery, armed robbery and habitual offender charges, which can bring up to life imprisonment.

Canton Township police tell WXYZ-TV and The Ann Arbor News Webster pretended to have a bomb Monday and demanded a teller give him money. A co-worker alerted Nabil Fawzi, who has a concealed-weapon permit. Fawzi held Webster at gunpoint until police arrived.

Can Michigan Employers ban firearms at the workplace?

Q: My employer has a rule prohibiting firearms at work, even in the parking lot. I have a CPL (Concealed Pistol License) and feel that I should at least be able to lock my gun in my car, as I can with “pistol free zones,” when I go to work. Can my employer do this?

A: In short, yes. As you can imagine, your situation is not unique. In fact, it highlights a classic conflict of rights issue. The most basic right that goes along with being the owner or lessor of real estate, is the right to exclude others and decide what items are on the property. Of course, you also have a right to defend yourself. And, if you have a CPL, you have a legal right to conceal a pistol for that purpose. However, under current Michigan law, the rights of the owner/lessor of the real estate trump the rights of a CPL holder. So, whether you are customer, social guest, or employee, once you have reasonable notice that the owner/lessor of the real property prohibits firearms, your status changes to that of trespasser if you continue to possess, or carry firearms on that property.

As for the employment aspect of this type of situation, unless covered by an employment contract or collective bargaining agreement, generally an employee may be terminated for any reason. So, it is within the rights of the employer to make and enforce work rules that prohibit firearms, however illogical or poorly thought out they may be.

As was recently reinforced by a case I successfully argued before an Administrative Law Judge at the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency, mere inadvertent rules violations do not disqualify a citizen from collecting unemployment benefits. In the particular case I refer to, an employee was terminated for wearing his pistol on the job in violation of the employer’s rules. The court ruled that he had inadvertently violated the rule, and allowed his unemployment benefits. However, there were extraordinary circumstances involved. The employee in question was a CPL holder wearing his pistol when he was alerted to a life or death emergency and responded to a natural disaster as part of a public safety team. The results may be different for an employee in a non-emergency situation. Furthermore, the employee is still subject to termination even though he may collect his unemployment benefits.

Florida has recently enacted legislation that would allow licensed individuals to secure their guns in their cars, even in parking lots owned or leased by entities that prohibit guns on their premises. The law is being challenged in court and the case is being watched carefully by interested eyes around the country. Expect more on that case here as it develops.

Steven W. Dulan is an attorney in private practice in East Lansing ( www.StevenWDulan.com ) , as well as a member of the MCRGO Board of Directors and the Board of Trustees of the MCRGO Foundation. He teaches firearms law as an adjunct professor at The Thomas M. Cooley Law School and is a volunteer long-range marksmanship instructor for pre-deployment troops under the auspices of the Civilian Marksmanship Program in cooperation with the Army Marksmanship Unit.

Michigan Handgun ‘Safety Inspection’ bill goes to Senate

Senate Committee Votes to eliminate ‘Safety Inspection’ Requirement
Legislative Update By David Felbeck, MCRGO’s Legislative Analyst

On June 10th the Senate Judiciary Committee voted unanimously to recommend the passage of SB 370 and SB 371. These bills, in conjunction with HB 4490 and HB 4491, which have already been passed by the House, will eliminate the requirement that any pistol purchaser must have the pistol “safety inspected” by the local police within ten days of purchase.

SB 370 was sponsored by Senator Richardville, and SB 371 by Senator Cropsey. About twelve people, excluding the Committee and staff, were present. Following an explanation of the bills by a representative of Senator Richardville, MCRGO’s legislative analyst briefly described the difficulties under present law faced by a pistol purchaser and made a plea not only for passage of the current bills but for complete elimination of the pistol purchase permit as well. No one else testified, either for or against these bills.

When these bills and the companion bills are passed by both houses, and the governor signs them, prospective purchasers of pistols will still have to obtain purchase permits from their local law enforcement office. CPL licensees, as is currently the case, will not be required to obtain purchase permits.

Committee members supporting both bills were Senators Kuipers (chairman), Cropsey, Whitmer, Clarke, and Pruse. Senators Sanborn and Patterson were not present.

The bills now go to the full Senate for action.

Proposal to Re-Write Michigan Constitution

Broad Michigan ballot proposal worries Republicans
by Tim Martin | The Associated Press Sunday June 15, 2008, 2:11 PM

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A potential ballot proposal targeting the November election is rattling some of Michigan’s political establishment, especially the Republican side.

A group called Reform Michigan Government Now, which says it wants to streamline government, has taken a lengthy list of proposals and packaged them into one big offering. The proposal would change aspects of state government’s legislative, judicial and executive branches, rewriting a large chunk of the Michigan constitution.

The number of state lawmakers would be reduced, along with their pay and benefits. The way boundaries are drawn for legislative districts would change. Two state Supreme Court justice positions would be eliminated. And that’s just the start of the proposed changes that the group wants to put before voters.

Details of ballot proposal
• The state Senate would drop from 38 members to 28. The House would drop from 110 members to 82. An “independent nonpartisan commission” would handle redistricting.

• Pay would be reduced for lawmakers, judges, the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state and attorney general. Benefits would be cut or capped at the level allowed for civil service employees.

• The Michigan Supreme Court would be reduced from seven justices to five. The two shortest-tenured justices who would lose their seats under terms of the proposal, Stephen Markman and Robert Young Jr., were both nominated by Republicans.

• The Michigan Court of Appeals would downsize from 28 members to 21. Ten judges would be added at the circuit court level.

• Lawmakers would have to wait at least two years to become lobbyists after leaving office.

• Lawmakers would have to disclose information about their finances.

The Associated Press

The chairman of the Michigan Republican Party has criticized the proposal. The Michigan Democratic Party issued a statement supportive of the proposal but hasn’t said if it is involved in the campaign.

Ballot proposal organizers, who aren’t required to file a campaign finance report until later this summer, so far haven’t said who’s paying their bills or how much money they’ve raised. That makes it harder to judge whether the proposal has a shot to make the ballot.

The campaign is running short on time. Supporters must turn in more than 380,000 valid voter signatures by July 7 to qualify for the ballot. They’d also need state election officials to approve the form of their petitions.

But Dianne Byrum, a spokeswoman for the campaign, said it is “our intent and hope” to make the ballot.

“I will agree this is very comprehensive but it boils down to one word: change,” said Byrum, a former Democratic leader in the state Legislature. “People in Michigan believe government is broken.”

Many of the proposed changes have either been formally introduced or discussed for years by some who want to change government.

The Legislature would remain full-time and term-limited, but it would shrink. The Senate would be reduced from 38 seats to 28, while the House would go from 110 to 82. The pay raise lawmakers gave themselves in 2002 would be rolled back. Lawmakers also would have to disclose personal financial information and be out of office for at least two years before they could become lobbyists.

A nonpartisan panel would be appointed to handle legislative redistricting, a task now dominated by whichever political party happens to be in control at the time.

The Michigan Supreme Court, now with seven justices, would be trimmed to five seats. The Michigan Court of Appeals would be reduced from 28 judges to 21. Salaries would be cut 15 percent. But 10 judges would be added to local level circuit courts.

The governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and secretary of state would have their salaries trimmed. The number of state departments would be capped at 18, which is the current number established but two under the constitutional limit. Several state boards and commissions could be eliminated through the proposal.

Voters would be able to get absentee ballots without having to give a reason, one of several changes proposed to the state’s election system.

The Michigan Republican Party attacked the ballot proposal last week in a YouTube video release, saying it’s an attempt by liberal Democrats to control the court system and hijack the state constitution. The two Supreme Court justices who would lose their seats, for example, were nominated by Republicans.

“This petition completely rewrites Michigan’s constitution,” state Republican Chairman Saul Anuzis said in the video release. “It could take away your state legislator, give more power to unelected bureaucrats putting control of the courts in the hands of ambulance-chasing trial lawyers.”

Anuzis said the lengthy petition might sound good on the surface, but the devil is in the fine print.

“Who’s going to read this before signing it?” Anuzis asked. “I’ve seen Michelin maps of Europe that were smaller and easier to read.”

Byrum said it’s a “fair proposal” that doesn’t give one political party an advantage over the other. She notes the proposal contains ideas previously floated by both Republicans and Democrats.

Hastings resident Joe Lukasiewicz, leader of the Reform Michigan campaign, was a key player in the unsuccessful 2006 effort to abolish the state Senate and move to a unicameral legislature. He said the 2008 ballot proposal has support from Republicans, Democrats and independents.

Michigan Democratic Chairman Mark Brewer is far more accepting of the proposal than Anuzis.

“The petition contains a number of innovative, important reforms and would give the voters of Michigan the opportunity to help bring much needed government reform to Lansing,” Brewer said in a statement.

The Associated Press asked Michigan Democratic representatives late last week and Sunday whether the party was actively involved in the campaign or supporting it financially.

A spokeswoman for Kalamazoo billionaire Jon Stryker, who helped fund some Democratic causes in 2006 and likely will again this election cycle, said Stryker and his Coalition for Progress political action committee are not involved in the effort.

Some Lansing lobbyists suggest the broad changes proposed by the petition would best be left for a constitutional convention, where the document that dictates much of government’s structure would be redrafted. Michigan voters will decide in 2010 whether to have a convention.

But there hasn’t been a constitutional convention since the current version was approved in 1963 and there’s no guarantee there will be one anytime soon. Voters rejected the idea of a constitutional convention in 1978 and 1994.

“The people of Michigan want real change in the way business is done in Lansing,” Brewer said in a statement. “This proposal gives voters the chance to enact that change at the grass-roots level rather than waiting for that change.”

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Associated Press writer David Eggert contributed to this report

2008 Presidential Candidates - What a sorry lot

By: The Unreconstructed Southerner

It goes without saying that George Wallace was right about the Democrats and the Republicans when he said there wasn’t a dimes worth of difference between them. Despite all the efforts of the media to portray the battle between McCain and Obama as a clash of polar opposites, all of us know that nothing could be further from the truth. Whether it is trade, gun control, global warming, or the Third World Invasion; the two choices put foward by the Republicans and Democrats might as well be named MVP for the Council of Foreign Relations and all the globalists who populate the regime in Washington.

None of us can deny what the purpose of NAFTA was when it was passed. It was the first step in binding us to permanent transnational economic regimes that would forever abridge our sovereignty. John McCain was and still is NAFTA’s most bullish supporter despite all evidence pointing towards it’s terrible consequences for Middle America. Before his venture into the Democratic primary Barack Obama too was supportive of NAFTA and only started voicing reservations when Hillary started cleaning his clock in Ohio and Pennsylvania. Now with the nomination won, Obama is once again voicing his support of free trade. It is a choice that is no choice for us and I somehow feel that the Constitution Party will be doing alot better this year then in 2004.

Perhaps the most damaging similarity between the two candidates is their desire to legalize the invasion of our country by Latin America. Despite the pair’s assertions that they care about the environment, they care not that illegal aliens have turned Los Angeles into a Third World cesspool, fresh with chickens roaming the backyards of our uninvited guests. Most ominously it comes at a time when the states, including McCain’s own Arizona, are cracking down on the invasion on the local level to the point that illegal aliens are fleeing Arizona, Oklahoma, Georgia, and parts of Virginia and the Carolinas. It will take a monumental effort to block an amnesty next year, and we had best gird ourselves for that assault no matter who is president.

It is perhaps all too ironic that at a time when this nation needs true leadership the most, we are to be saddled with two of the worst candidates to ever be put forth by either party. While we must vote for neither one of these two, we must remain engaged and elect folks on the lower ballots to stand up for us since neither McCain or Obama will. While this nation is to be made to suffer thanks to the “conservative” movement, it is up to us to be a part of shaping the politics of the right wing in years to come. Then maybe next time they will actually listen to what we have to say, and then and only then can they win and actually give us a dimes worth of difference.

Right Wingers are nicer than Leftist Liberals

CofCC.org News Team

Major British newspaper admits what we’ve known all along. Right-wingers are just nicer people than the lefties. Conservatives think about others, while liberals are all about “me, me, me.”

From UK Times…

George Orwell once wrote that politics was closely related to social identity. ‘One sometimes gets the impression,’ he wrote in The Road To Wigan Pier, ‘that the mere words socialism and communism draw towards them with magnetic force every fruit-juice drinker, nudist, sandal-wearer, sex-maniac, Quaker, nature-cure quack, pacifist and feminist in England’.

Orwell was making an observation. But today a whole body of academic research shows he was correct: your politics influence the manner in which you live your life. And the news is not so good for those on the political Left.

There is plenty of data that shows that Right-wingers are happier, more generous to charities, less likely to commit suicide - and even hug their children more than those on the Left.

…

The statistics I base this on come from the General Social Survey, America’s premier social research database, but they are just as relevant to the UK, as I believe political belief systems drive one’s attitudes, regardless of where you happen to live.

Those surveyed were asked: ‘Is it your obligation to care for a seriously injured/ill spouse or parent, or should you give care only if you really want to?’ Of those describing themselves as ‘conservative’, 71 per cent said it was. Only 46 per cent of those on the Left agreed.

To the question: ‘Do you get happiness by putting someone else’s happiness ahead of your own?’, 55 per cent of those who said they were ‘very conservative’ said Yes, compared with 20 per cent of those who were ‘very liberal’.

It’s been my experience that conservatives like to talk about things outside of themselves while progressives like to discuss themselves: how they are feeling and what their desires are. That might make for a good therapy session but it’s not much fun over a long dinner.

Research also indicates those on the Left are less interested in getting married: 30 per cent of those who were ‘very liberal’ said it was important, in contrast to 65 per cent of Right-wingers.

Iowa Flood and New Orleans Flood Reactions

Does anybody notice the media difference between New Orleans and Iowa floods???

In Iowa, whites are carrying friends and or relatives through the water.——–In N.O. blacks are carrying looted beer, tv’s or anything they can steal.

In Iowa, whites are not faulting/blaming President Bush or FEMA. —– In N.O. it’s all President Bushes and FEMA’S fault for not aiding.

As of yet, no government has spent millions for worthless trailers to give to the homeless whites in Iowa as they did for the blacks in N.O.

Can that be considered discrimination??????

I’ll bet %99.99 of N.O. will vote for Obama.  Do you think that should tell us (whites) something. 

Strictly my opinion.

Ron