I have no illusions about protesters at the recent town hall meetings on health care.
Mitch Albom
Some are fueled by angry conservative groups. Some are hopped up on radio hosts’ rants and ravings. Some are Barack Obama haters. Some use one piece of wrong information to smear an entire event.
And some just think the whole idea of government health care stinks.
But all of them — all of them — have the right to be there, and the right to their point of view. Liberal-minded thinkers who regularly speak up for the poor and underprivileged cannot suddenly yank the rug when it comes to free speech for others.
No matter what I think of national health care — no matter what you think, either — it is an issue that affects everyone, and everyone should have the same right to talk, argue or shout about it.
The fact that some are doing so in an impolite, abrasive way is unfortunate.
[…]
Now, I know some of these protesters are sent by dubiously named groups like Americans for Prosperity, which sounds harmless enough, until you check and see the group’s leader once organized for Enron and worked with disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
I know these groups often hand out instructions on how to be disruptive.
And I know some people just want to see Obama — and any of his plans — fail.
But that’s what America is. That’s what town halls are for. And let’s be honest, politicians try to orchestrate these events as much as protesters do. The only problem I have is when people won’t let others speak or come only to disrupt. That’s not right. That’s not democracy.
But the rest is. If you feel other people are ill-informed, take the time to try to correct them. If you feel others are shouting to bring down a cause, shout to bring it up.
But I would rather live in a place where people questioned what their government proposed rather than swallowing it blindly — especially a government whose members guard our tax money while taking bribes, shout morality and then get caught with their pants down, or lecture businessmen about private planes and then order a bunch for themselves.
What did Democrats expect with a bill like this? Roses and hosannas? Many who supported Obama’s campaign promises of health care for everyone wouldn’t have done so if they read how he now plans to pay for and administer it.
It may not be pretty, but shouting and confrontations are part of this country. They have been from the start. More manners would be better. But silence would be worse.
Listening to this idiot yowl on about this; is like listening to Aleister Crowley say that Jesus Christ is Lord. You know the words coming out of his mouth, but you know damn well that the person does not mean a damn word of it. Albom goes on to very lamely attempt to paint a parallel between these Townhalls and the Anti-War Demonstrations of the Vietnam era. Which in itself is an idiotic comparison. The difference is that those war protests were done by a bunch of America-hating assholes, who wanted to see us lose and come home defeated. For what it is worth Mitch; Vietnam was started by a Democrat, The man who was the driving force and architect behind Vietnam was a liberal Democrat — something that that he went to his grave regretting. Also, want to know which party ended Vietnam?? It was the Republicans! After that idiot liberal broadcaster Walter Cronkite lost it for us, there was nothing more we could do! Anyhow, these townhall protests are being put on by those who happen to give two shits about our Country and the direction that it is headed in; people like me and every other damned person that either shows up at them and happens to Blog about them.
Further more, the problem here is Mitch Albom is a nothing more than an opportunist. This guy used to bash Bush and from what I have read, he used to trash Reagan as well. So, while on the surface, he comes off as someone who is attempting to defend the America people’s right to free speech. In reality Albom is really trying to mock those who really care about this Country. So, nice try Mitch, but you should really stick to what you know —- Sports.
Lansing — Unemployment rates rose in all 17 of Michigan’s major labor markets in June.
The loss of manufacturing jobs and of seasonal employment in education drove up the unemployment rates announced by the state Thursday. Michigan gained seasonal tourism jobs.
All of Michigan’s regional markets had unemployment rates of more than 10 percent last month, ranging from a low of 10.6 percent in Ann Arbor to a high of 17.4 percent in Flint.
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Two rural counties, Baraga and Oscoda, each had jobless rates of more than 20 percent.
Regional unemployment rates are not seasonally adjusted. National and state unemployment rates are adjusted to remove seasonal influences.
Michigan’s statewide seasonally adjusted rate of 15.2 percent was highest in the nation.
Just another perfect example of the failure of the socialist Democrat polices in my wonderful state. When will the fine people of Michigan wake up and realize that the Democrats have nothing, but their own special interests in mind and vote these socialist twits out of office, once and for all?
I will not hold my breath, least I turn blue and die.
Michigan needs change, but not what Obama and Socialist goon Jennifer Granholm have mind.
The damage is being assessed at 9 Mile Road and I-75 after Wednesday night’s massive tanker explosion in Hazel Park.
Northbound and Southbound I-75 is shut down in both directions from 8 mile to I-696 and will remain closed until further notice.
Three vehicles were involved in the accident – the tanker truck, a Meijer semi-truck and a car. The tanker was carrying more than 13,000 gallons of gas and approximately 4,000 gallons of diesel when it exploded right under the 9 Mile overpass.
The intense heat of the explosion forced the overpass to collapse onto the freeway below as hundreds of people watched, stunned by what was happening.
Amazingly, no one was killed. Three people were taken to Beaumont hospital with non-life threatening injuries. They were the 44-year-old tanker driver Michael St. John of Armada, the 38-year-old driver of the Meijer truck Jody Cicero of Monroe, and the 27-year-old driver of the car Saied Haidarian-Shahri of Clawson. All three have been released from the hospital.
Police tell Action News Haidarian-Shahri may have lost control of the vehicle and hit the tanker.
A driver who was stopped at a light just ahead of the overpass, told Action News she saw the explosion and flames engulf the bridge. Mary Greiv says she was "in shock" by what she saw. "Oh my god, I’m so grateful to God that I’m alive because I was right there," Greiv told Action News.
Another witness says she actually felt the explosions from a distance. "I’ve never been in an earthquake type situation, but I would dare say that’s what it felt like – like an aftershock."
I am just glad that no one was actually killed in the accident. I mean, the fact those drivers had the frame of mind and the wits about them to get the heck out of dodge before the fire really hit says quite a bit about them. Of course, now your EnviroNuts are out in force:
Once the raging inferno was brought under control following the I-75 accident Wednesday night, environmental concerns emerged.
Ferndale sent a half-million gallons of water to help extinguish the flames.
Also involved, thousands of gallons of fuel inside the tanker that had to go somewhere.
Ferndale DPW officials were up through the night working with the EPA and other agencies.
They were working to figure out where the water went underground in the sewers.
Thursday, crews pumped out the runoff and tried to determine the concentration of the fuel.
There are lingering concerns about fumes that could possibly ignite.
That’s the main concern, because experts can control the flow of anything in the sewer systems.
Fuel left on the road was being soaked up by sand.
There never was a threat to drinking water.
Heh… "ZOMG! Some gasoline and Diesel got into the water and the sewer! We might have to flush it out!" Liberals are such morons, I’ll tell ya! That Gas and Diesel was so damn diluted from all that water, that what did not burn off was so watered down; the chances of it exploding were slim to none. But then again, this is liberal Michigan. :loser: :struggle:
Anyways, the mess is being cleaned and the overpass will be fixed. The real kicker is, they just rebuilt that overpass; a year ago! D’OH! I would be willing to bet, that the guys who worked on that little project let out a groan when they found out what happened. I mean, I could just hear it now; "They could have picked any overpass on that freeway, but they just had to pick the one we worked on!"
One thing I will say here is this; Cheryl Chodun is the best. My Mom alerted me to the fact that this accident was happening. She told me to turn to channel 4, which is WDIV in the local area here. They had a lousy picture. So, I flipped over to WXYZ-TV, which is channel 7 here in the local area. There was good ol’ Cheryl Chodun; practically standing on top of the tanker saying stuff like, "Man, this is a really big fire!" God Love her. She really does a excellent job, even it does mean standing way too close to a tanker, that they had no idea, at the time, what was exactly in the taker itself. Heck, even Bill Proctor was not even that brave, He was at least a block away. Not Cheryl, she would have been helping put out the fire, if they would have allowed it.
Update Friday 3:22 A.M. (I really should be in bed…): I Wrote Cheryl Chodun an e-mail, letting her know that I wrote about her. Much to my shock and surprise; she replied! Here’s Mrs. Chodun’s Reply:
Thanks for the kind words and thanks for watching us! I was pretty close but we were up-wind, not in the fumes or smoke and while I am pretty passionate and intense about my job, I think I will leave the fire-fighting to the experts! To be honest, I was really hoping the explosions were over as I was talking…and talking…for about 2 hours.
All the best to you,
Cheryl
Thanks for reply Mrs. Chodun. Keep up the good work.
HAZEL PARK, Mich. (WXYZ) – A tanker truck–and possibly two or three semi trucks–has exploded in the vacinity of northbound I-75/I-696/Nine Mile Road in Hazel Park, causing a massive fire and explosion. Eyewitnesses say the tanker tried to make it under the Nine Mile overpass but the top of the tanker hit the bridge, causing the explosion. It is not known what the tanker was carrying. A Michigan State Police officer told Action News reporter Cheryl Chodun that there were “two or three” trucks involved in the explosion.
Preliminary reports indicate one person has been injured, but it is still not known how many vehicles are involved in the accident/explosion.
Michigan State Police say Eastbound I-696 ramps to northbound and southbound I-75 are now closed, and I-75 has been shut down in both directions at Nine Mile from the center of the fire. Response teams from Hazel Park, Madison Heights and Ferndale are at the scene, along with the Michigan State Police.
Multiple sources have told Action News that the Nine Mile Road overpass has collapsed at the center of the fire. The explosion, according to witnesses, occurred around 8:15 p.m.
According to what I’ve just heard from on WXYZ, the tanker driver is alive and a friend of theirs, which relayed it to the local news station that someone “T-Boned” or stuck his truck. Which caused the accident.
Consider this a live Blog, I will be posting more information; once I receive. If you are on twitter; if you have information or saw the accident or have a picture. Please, reply to my tweet and/or e-mail me via the Blog and I will post it here.
HAZEL PARK, Mich. (WXYZ) – Investigators at the scene of a massive tanker truck fire on I-75 say the fire is under control but crews are letting it burn itself out.
Officials say the tanker truck and two other vehicles were involved in the crash and explosion in the vacinity of northbound I-75/I-696/Nine Mile Road in Hazel Park Wednesday evening.
Officers say the tanker truck was hit by another vehicle and slammed into one of the concrete supports under the Nine Mile Road overpass. Multiple sources have told Action News that the overpass collapsed at the center of the fire. This overpass was rebuilt just one year ago; now it will have to be rebuilt again.
The accident and explosion, according to witnesses, occurred around 8:15 p.m. Police say three persons were hurt. They were taken to Beaumont Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
A Michigan State Police officer told Action News reporter Cheryl Chodun that the tanker truck was carrying 13,000 gallons of fuel and 4,000 gallons of diesel fuel.
This is an educational or as some would call company propaganda film… The Sound and Video sync is horrible. But it give a glimpse into the past here in the Detroit Area; before the black Liberal establishment took over the city.
I happen to like John Stossel; because he dares to take on the Liberals. Not in a mean or nasty way. But by simply stating the truth.
He writes about Michael Moore’s latest Movie:
Michael Moore has been working on another documentary. This time, he’s taking on capitalism:
“The wealthy, at some point, decided they didn’t have enough wealth. They wanted more — a lot more. So they systematically set about to fleece the American people out of their hard-earned money.”
How ridiculous is that? The wealthy, and everyone else, almost always decide that they don’t have enough wealth. People ask their bosses for raises. We invest in stocks hoping for bigger returns than Treasury Bonds bring. “Greed” is a constant. The beauty of free markets, when government doesn’t meddle in them, is that they turn this greed into a phenomenal force for good. The way to win big money is to serve your customers well. Profit-seeking entrepreneurs have given us better products, shorter work days, extended lives, and more opportunities to write the script of our own life.
He goes on…:
Moore also fails to understand is that it was not “capitalism” run amok that caused today’s financial problems. In reality, it was a combination of ill-conceivedgovernment policies and an overzealous Federal Reserve artificially lowering interest rates to fuel a bubble in the housing market. Then it was government that took money from taxpayers and forced banks to accept it.
Moore ought to understand that, because he makes a good point when he says his movie will be about “the biggest robbery in the history of this country – the massive transfer of U.S. taxpayer money to private financial institutions.”
That is indeed robbery. It sure doesn’t sound like capitalism.
Nope, sounds more like socialized Healthcare or simply Socialism in general; to me.
According to the press release you linked, Chris, “Moore has made three of the top six highest-grossing documentaries of all time,” which presumably means he has accumulated a great deal of wealth. Apparently, since he continues to foist his so-called documentaries on an unsuspecting public, Moore has decided that he doesn’t have enough wealth. He wants more–a lot more.
Like most anti-capitalists, Moore has no problem personally profiting from his own endeavors while demonizing other successful persons and attempting to have them dispossessed of their wealth. The good news is that Moore ultimately has to answer to the marketplace and thus may find himself begging for work from the very people he now condemns if enough of his audience members wake up to the fact that he’s a charlatan and stop shelling out their increasingly scarce cash for his celluloid propaganda.
Mike is right on point; that is exactly how the socialists in America are. The Socialist left wants to preach to America, how evil, rotten, nasty and no good the evil capitalist system is; all the whole pocketing a profit from their lectures, Movies and the books that they just happen to make a profit at. It is more of that “Yea for me, but Nay for thee”, type of mentality and outright hypocritical nonsense that the Far Socialist left is known for.
The troubling thing about it, is this; these knuckle-headed socialists basically control the Democratic Party and it’s message. Hence my reasoning for not wanting anything to do with them or their Party any longer.
Give me Capitalism, Freedom and Liberty or Give Me Death!
In this music video, which features Mickey Rourke and Kris Kristofferson, you will see the plight of many in this area. In this Video are actors, But the situation being portrayed in this movie, is the reality of many in this area.
How anyone can watch this, and still say to themselves, let them fail. Does not have a damned soul.
They say, politics is local; That does not even begin to cover it. 😡
A pretty sad thing to wake up today. However, I am sorry to say this, but I knew it was coming. Chrysler never was able to get their act together; unlike G.M. and get a resolution together.
The Report comes via the Washington Post, I won’t quote the whole thing and I kindly ask that you go over and read the whole thing. But rather, I will give some my impressions from the interesting stuff.
My impressions:
The Obama administration last night planned to send Chrysler into bankruptcy, replace chief executive Robert L. Nardelli and pump billions of dollars more into the effort, all in hopes the company can emerge from court proceedings as a reenergized competitor in the global economy.
Government officials clung to 11th-hour hopes last night that bankruptcy could be averted, but talks broke down with Chrysler’s creditors. A bankruptcy filing could happen as soon as today.
The U.S. government’s attempt to save the automaker amounts to another extraordinary intervention in the economy and a landmark event in the history of the American auto industry.
Under the administration’s detailed court strategy, ownership of Chrysler would be dramatically reorganized, the leadership of Italian automaker Fiat would take over company management and the U.S. and Canadian governments would contribute more than $10 billion in additional funding.
Company and government officials had feared that a bankruptcy would stain the brand, shake customer confidence and erode sales, but the administration said it would seek to use the process to create a new Chrysler company. Its ownership would be divided, with the company’s union retiree health fund receiving a 55 percent stake, Fiat would claim as much as a 35 percent share and the United States would take 8 percent. The Canadian government would receive two percent.
Basically this is what General Motors did voluntarily. Minus the Fiat equation, of course. It is a tough break that the creditors, bond holders, and company management could not come together to an agreement. The main and good thing is, that the automaker, itself, will be saved, and that American jobs will be saved.
Now comes the part that will make people like Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Michelle Malkin, and the rest of the far right wing people howl at the moon:
The automaker’s current majority owner, the private-equity firm Cerberus Capital Management, would have its holdings wiped out.
Now, to be fair; I will report the truth about this holdings company. This company, from what I have read and have been told; is notorious for buying up struggling companies, like Chrysler and shutting them down and selling off the assets to make money. They have done this in past, from what I told. So, while I hate to see anyone lose their money. I actually am glad to see Chrysler being taken away from this company.
Let me also say this. As an Conservative, who believes in “America First”, and believes that business sometimes have to fail; I am not exactly jumping for joy, when it comes to fact that this auto company is having taxpayer dollars being pumped into it. Nor am I happy at the fact, that a US automaker is having a foreign auto company’s management taking over its operations. However, I believe we must be realistic about such matters. We are not living in the 1950’s any longer, we are in a economic recession of monumental proportions, and if we do not drastic measures quickly, we could see a total collapse of the American auto industry. I also know that there is a undeniable truth that “as Detroit goes, so goes America.” Pat Buchanan and I, have been saying this all along; if allow the big three or in this case, the big two to disappear our Nation’s economy would go into free fall. I shudder in absolute horror at the thought of the far reaching implications of such an event.
I will say, as a devout Paleo-Conservative; If we would have rejected the globalism of the Rockefeller-type conservative types and would have imposed strict trade restrictions on Japanese and other such foreign automotive products, these auto companies would not be in the position that they are today. It is because of the Rockefeller-type, Madison Avenue, Neo-Conservatives, whose mantra is “screw the American middle class”, is the reason we are in this position today. Further more, it is the reason that the world is also partaking in our recession as well. Perhaps President Obama will see the state of our globalist economy and will rethink his position on NAFTA and TAFTA and the rest of those toxic free trade agreements that are in place; and impose strict tariffs on imports that are bleeding our economy dry.
Realistically however, I highly doubt that President Obama will do any of that, because he is trying to run as a centrist, or as I like to call it; he is sucking up to the Neo-Conservative right, as they are his biggest supporters, strangely, after trying so very hard to defeat him in the election. Of course, we Paleo-Conservatives know why this is; because the only difference between a Neo-Conservative and a Democrat is the letter next to the name.
for Prosperity, which sounds harmless enough, until you check and see the group’s leader once organized for Enron and worked with disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
I would be willing to bet, that the guys who worked on that little project let out a groan when they found out what happened. 
I mean, I could just hear it now; "They could have picked any overpass on that freeway, but they just had to pick the one we worked on!" 
One thing I will say here is this; 
): I Wrote Cheryl Chodun an e-mail, letting her know that I wrote about her. Much to my shock and surprise; she replied! 
Here’s Mrs. Chodun’s Reply:
