Dingell Out

Democrat John Dingell, in Congress for over 58 years since Eisenhower's first term, is finally retiring. Dingell's wife Debbie Dingell is running to succeed him. Progressive senator Rebecca Warren is considering running. If so, we could see an interesting Downriver versus Ann Arbor primary. Republican Terry Bowman is expected to run.

The latest updates of Michigan and Kalamazoo County political races can be found at the links on the sidebar at right.

Bad Idea

Alamo Township Supervisor Lou Conti is facing a recall effort due to his alleged conduct during and after meetings.  The recall election has been pushed back to November, assuming enough signatures are collected.

Despite recall effort, Kalamazoo-area township supervisor votes himself $5,000 raise

Despite this, he and his supporters made that bizarre decision to raise their own pay.  They did not wait to apply it to the next term.  They also increased the pay of several officials who said that they did not need or want an increase.  This presumably was to give cover so that he was not just increasing his own pay.  Conti may have just assured that he will be recalled.

Previous: Recall the Alamo?

No Means Try Again

Voters in the Gull Lake school district narrowly rejected a tax increase on Tuesday.  Many school districts don't like taking no for an answer, and will keep putting the same (or similar) measures on the ballot until one passes. But Gull Lake went one step further.

Gull Lake schools millage request to appear again on May 6 ballot

Christopher Rundle, superintendent of Gull Lake schools, said the board met Friday to discuss its next steps. The proposal will appear again on the May 6 ballot because the board had voted 6-0 on Monday to have the request put before voters again in May as a fallback plan in case it failed Tuesday.

So they put it on the ballot again before it was even rejected the first time!

The Spread of Christianity

This article is an interesting look at the spread of Christianity in the Third World.

Beating the State: Third Century Christianity in the Third World Today

Great Achievements in Arson

Lola Atkinson, vice president of the Kalamazoo NAACP, has been charged with attempted arson.  She was the 2012 YWCA woman of achievement award winner.  She was apparently caught in the act preparing to burn down a house that she owns, likely for an insurance scam.  There have previously been several other suspicious fires in houses that she owned.

NAACP vice president Lola Clark Atkinson one of two suspects charged with attempted arson in Kalamazoo
NAACP president says he holds vice president Lola Clark Atkinson, charged with attempted arson, in 'highest regards'
'Significant' evidence ties Lola Clark Atkinson to attempted arson, Kalamazoo police chief says
Lola Atkinson paid tenant to vacate house as part of arson plan, Kalamazoo detective testifes
Lola Clark Atkinson arrest prompts Kalamazoo police to re-examine 1998 arson that killed boy, 5

Scott McGraw Running for County Commission

Republican Scott McGraw is running for Kalamazoo County Commission district 11, which is being vacated by the retiring John Zull.  Jamie Jager, the democrat who lost to Zull in 2012, is also running again.

Portage resident Scott McGraw announces run for Kalamazoo County Board

Stephanie Moore's Rap Sheet

Kalamazoo city commissioner Stephanie Moore, Kalamazoo County's most embarrassing politician, is considering running for county commission.

Kalamazoo City Commissioner Stephanie Moore considering run for county board
Kalamazoo planning commissioner Rico White to run for county board

To review her rap sheet:

Analysis of Kalamazoo City Commission Races

Before her election, Moore was convicted of several crimes, including embezzlement, when she was a community organizer for ACORN.

Moore, who is serving her first term as a city commissioner, pleaded guilty in 2005 to misdemeanor embezzlement from the Fannie Lou Hamer Project, a national nonprofit voting education foundation she headed. Michigan State Police records also show that in 1983 Moore, then 17, was found guilty of misdemeanor retail fraud and in 1998 she pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor nonsufficient funds charge.

She was arrested and pled no contest to interfering with a police officer in Battle Creek and spent a short time in jail. There was also a controversy about firemen filling her swimming pool for free.

What Did Stephanie Moore/Bell Know?

In 2011, her then husband, Terrence Bell, was charged and convicted of child abuse.  There were allegations that Moore may have known, or should have known, about his activities.  She defended him while his trial was ongoing, but divorced him after he was convicted.

None of this seems to matter to the voters of Kalamazoo, who have now elected her to the city commission four times.

Phyllis Schlafly on Immigration

Phyllis Schlafly has a long report on the impact of mass immigration on the Republican Party.

How Mass (Legal) Immigration Dooms a Conservative Republican Party

This is a longer, better version of my article from last year.

How to Destroy the GOP in One Easy Step

Alford Out

County commissioner Carolyn Alford will not seek reelection.  She is a democrat who has represented the minority-majority district since 2006.  It isn't clear who will run for this seat, but commissioner Robert Barnard deferred to Alford in 2012.

Kalamazoo County Commissioner Carolyn Alford won't seek re-election in 2014

This means that a majority of the Kalamazoo County Commission will be new next year, as four commissioners are running for state representative, and two are just retiring.  Only two of the remaining commissioners were in office before 2010.  These are Republican Jeff Heppler and democrat John Taylor, who were both elected in 2002.  They are probably the favorites to be the leaders of the commission next year.

Brimelow on Snyder

Peter Brimelow of Vdave weighs in on the Governor's immigration plan.

Dave Agema vs. Betsy DeVos, MI Gov. Rick Snyder = America vs. Plutocrats

Significantly, Snyder's speech also highlighted his plan to attract "immigrants" to Michigan, a policy so ludicrous it can only have come from believing the Wall Street Journal editorial page:

Snyder also will soon issue an executive order creating the Office for New Americans, joining two other states that have put immigration services under one roof.

His administration has applied to make Michigan the second state government along with Vermont to run a regional center for the EB-5 visa program, with the goal of attracting talented immigrant entrepreneurs. The EB-5 program designates businesses to recruit foreign investors for development projects — the investors get permanent U.S. residency for themselves and their families.

"If someone has the opportunity to come to our country legally, let's hold our arms open and say, 'Come to Michigan, this is the place to be,'" Snyder said.

This enabled Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, to make the obvious riposte:

"I think most people in Michigan are scratching their heads a little bit saying, 'Why do we need to import degree holders?' What about ... giving our kids the degrees so they can do the jobs he's claiming to try to lure to Michigan?"

Michigan GOP Governor Unveils Plan To Attract Immigrants To The State, Fox News Latino, January 17, 2014.

To quote our James Kirkpatrick:

[T]he ultimate battle for the soul of the GOP lies ahead. And the battle lines are becoming increasingly clear. One future is as a nationalist, populist, pro-worker Republican Party. On the other is a party of Politically Correct corporate lobbyists, hoping to squeeze out a close victory (or at least more consultant fees) for a few more election cycles.

Snyder doesn't want to "divide" Michiganders. He just wants to immiserate them.