Today, the state House voted 75-30 and the state Senate voted 24-13 to ban smoking in workplaces including bars and restaurants.

According to the following LINK, both Senator Nancy Cassis and Representative Hugh Crawford voted in favor of the ban. While I’ve always supported both of them, I’m a bit disappointed by their support for this bill. Note that I’m not and have never been a smoker.

Have they lost faith in the free market system? Do they not believe that bar owners should have the right to decide how to run their business? Why can’t they leave it up to the folks to decide whether they want to be patrons of such establishments? Have they forgotten that we don’t need big Government to babysit us at every turn?

I for one would certainly love to hear their reasoning behind this vote.

The Novi City Council has sent the Signature Park proposal to the voters. The May 5, 2009 vote if passed, would increase property taxes by 0.5 mills, which would cost about $75 per year for a resident with a $300,000 home. $75 doesn’t sound like much, but in this day and age, it is a lot of money to an unemployed worker. It’s a lot of money to a family of 4 that is trying to support 2 college students while paying some of the already highest property taxes in the state. Home values have decreased more than any other state in the country and Novi is feeling those affects. When was the last time a house sold in Novi that wasn’t a foreclosure? When was the last time a new house was built in Novi?  Raising taxes is not going to help the housing market.

There are currently several parks, entertainment, activity centers, throughout Novi, including the new park being built at the Faust farm. Are they being used 100% of the time? Probably not. Until they are, we are just looking at another facility used less than we would like, and the other facilities are now used even less.  But hey….we still pay to keep these facilities looking good and running good.

What about other options for financing the park? There are several companies in Novi that claim to be a part of the community. Lets make them feel like part of the community. Has City Council approached them? They will probably say NO……Every company is cutting back. Cutting wages and hours. This is bad timing. Please wait for the economy to improve.

If you can’t tell, I’m not supporting this proposal. If we are going to be a part of change, we need to lower our taxes, not raise them. You want to jump start the economy? Offer incentives by lowering taxes. Novi can be a leader in this state.  The only way to do that…..Just say NO on May 5th.

Thad McCotter, our astute U.S. House Representative (11th district) has quietly become one of the most entertaining politicians in Washington. Below, you’ll see a video of McCotter spoofing Bob Dylan’s “Subterranean Homesick Blues”, while taking a shot at Nancy Pelosi’s wish to reinstitute the Fairness Doctrine.

Here’s the original Bob Dylan video:

And McCotter’s spoof:

Enjoy!!

As posted at Detroit Uncovered

Just an observation as we watch the news coverage of the massive flooding in the Midwest with over 100 blocks of the city of Cedar Rapids, Iowa under water, levees breaking, and the attention now turned downstream for when this massive amount of water hits the Mississippi, what’s amazing is not what is being seen, but what is not being seen:

1. We don’t see looting.
2. We don’t see street violence.
3. We don’t see people sitting on their rooftops waiting for the government to come and save them.
4. We don’t see people waiting on the government to do anything.
5. We don’t see Hollywood organizing benefits to raise money for people to rebuild.
6. We don’t see people blaming President Bush.
7. We don’t see people ignoring evacuation orders.
8. We don’t see people blaming a government conspiracy to blow up the levees as the reason some have not held.
9. We don’t see the US Senators or the Governor of Iowa crying on TV.
10. We don’t see the Mayors of any of these cities complaining about the lack of state or federal response.
11. We don’t see or hear reports of the police going around confiscating personal firearms so only the criminal will be armed.
12. We don’t see gangs of people going around and randomly shooting at the rescue workers.
13. You don’t see some leaders in this country blaming the bad behavior of the Iowa flood victims on ’society’ (of course there is no wide spread reports of lawlessness to blame).

Where are all of the Hollywood celebrities holding telethons asking for help in restoring Iowa and helping the folks affected by the floods?

Where is all the media asking the tough questions about why the federal government hasn’t solved the problem? Asking where the FEMA trucks (and trailers) are?

Why isn’t the Federal Government relocating Iowa people to free hotels in Chicago?

When will Spike Lee say that the Federal Government blew up the levees that failed in Des Moines?

Where are Sean Penn and the Dixie Chicks?

Where are all the looters stealing high-end tennis shoes and big screen television sets?

When will we hear Governor Chet Culver say that he wants to rebuild a ‘vanilla’ Iowa, because that’s the way God wants it?

Where are the people declaring that George Bush hates white, rural people?