This comes via WXYZ TV in Detroit:
On one hand, I am glad to see Muslims stand up against terrorism; but the cynic in me, honestly wonders if this is just is not just some attempt to save face by the Muslim community in Detroit. After all, this blogger here, has went undercover and caught Islāmic Imams preaching hate of Christians and Jews from their pulpits.
So, this little protest really means nothing to me really.
Seems like the liberal intolerance thing is getting a little close to home now. For what it is worth, Wyandotte, Michigan is about 10 miles to the south of me. This was in the local paper here.
Via News Herald:
Jazmyn Bencik isn’t afraid to speak up when she sees something she perceives as wrong.
That’s exactly what she did recently when she saw something she thought was insensitive against her race.
Bencik saw a member of the Southgate Community Players post a photo of himself titled “Puerto Rico Suave” on Facebook. The theater group was preparing to put on “West Side Story,” which closes this weekend.
Bencik, who at the time was a board member for the Wyandotte Community Theater, thought using white actors to portray Puerto Rican characters was wrong. She was even more offended when she found out several cast members were using spray tans to appear “brown.”
“It’s highly offensive to use excessive spray tan like that,” Bencik said. “It’s the equivalent of using yellow or black face.”
She said she commented on the photo and was nearly immediately attacked for her feelings.
“It was racially insensitive and personally offensive,” she said. “I was told that they weren’t likely to get that many Puerto Ricans to try out for a play in Southgate. Then I suggested they take into account casting difficulties in the future.”
Phillip Rauch, president of the Southgate Community Players, said Bencik’s feelings are off base.
“We don’t use black face,” he said. “We are actors putting on a show. That’s all it is. Using spray tan is nothing more than part of the costume.”
Bencik said she was willing to leave it at that, having spoken her mind. But it didn’t end there for her.
“When I went to practice for our group I was told what I had said was wrong,” she said. “I don’t understand what I did wrong. I was speaking my own opinion.”
She said members of the board told her that she shouldn’t have spoken out on the issue since she was also on the Wyandotte Community Theater board of directors.
“They told me that especially because I was the social media director that I shouldn’t have spoken out,” she said.
That night, Nov. 10, she was removed from having access to the Facebook page for her group. She said she received a letter the next morning notifying her that she was relieved of her duties with the organization.
There you have it folks, liberal intolerance at it’s finest. Jonah Goldberg was on to something:
It seems that the “social justice” crowd is at it again, trying to subtly suggest that because Detroit has a white Mayor, that blacks are being discriminated against.
Downtown Detroit has been fashionably in redevelopment and undergoing resurgence since the economic downturn, but not everyone is feeling welcome.
With its shiny new facades on chic eateries, cafes and microbreweries, the bright transformation and new attitude has often been called “New Detroit.” It’s all a point of pride for Mike Duggan, the first white mayor elected in 40 years who took office last year. His efforts ranging from urban landscaping to lowering the crime rate to incubating booming businesses have brought new hope for the Motor City—consistently plagued for decades with scandals, crime and blight.
Yet, many black Detroiters are crying foul, saying Detroit is becoming a tale of two cities; while young, white residents enjoy a stylish, prosperous downtown, black business owners say they are being systematically forced out of business.
Not everyone is buying that little lie however:
Charlie Beckham, Detroit’s Group Executive for Neighborhoods, who invited the first group of business owners to talk, is adamant there is no effort to push out black businesses. Instead, he said, the economy has changed, and people are repositioning.
“There are plenty of successful black business owners doing the right thing. They scratched and saved and paid their workers before they bought the Cadillac,” said Beckham, who has served six mayors since the late Coleman Young, the city’s first black mayor. “The responsibility is on us. When you’ve had a month-to-month lease for 25 years, and you get pushed out of your lease or when you lose your property because you didn’t pay your mortgage or taxes, that’s just bad business.”
Meanwhile, Smith negotiated a lease with new building owners and Spectacles is staying put. Mo’ Better Blues, which in October won a $50,000 Motor City Match grant from the city of Detroit, is celebrating its grand opening in another downtown location on November 7. The Mongos continue to run Café D’Mongo’s Speakeasy, a downtown bar/restaurant.
“We’ve got to tighten up in this new environment,” Beckham said. “Buy the building. Negotiate a strong lease. If the economy goes up or down, you will not get pushed out. Is there still racism? Yes. But we can’t let that be an excuse.”
Here’s what I wrote in the comments section of this story:
Amazing, the same people that are largely responsible for the downfall of my great city are now @!$%#ing because they’re not being allowed to do it again. How quaint.
The truth is, if you don’t have the money to be in business, you shouldn’t be in business to start with! NO ONE is entitled to anything! If you can’t hang with the big dogs, get off the porch!
Racist? No. Racial Realist? Yes.
If you ain’t got the flow to be in business, than take your broke black a$$ on down the road and let someone who does have the building, it is just that simple.
Amazing how blacks think that they’re entitled to everything. This is what happens when you give them special treatment. Give them an inch and they try to take a mile.
I stand behind that comment 100%.
Remember these two dunderheads? Well, he quit and she got the boot:
Lansing — The Michigan House of Representatives ousted state Rep. Cindy Gamrat from office just after 4 a.m. Friday for misconduct involving her extramarital affair with Rep. Todd Courser — one hour after Courser abruptly resigned.At 4:13 a.m., the House voted 91-12 to expel Gamrat from office after the Plainwell Republican made a final plea on the floor for a censure. Gamrat’s ouster makes her just the fourth lawmaker to be expelled from the Legislature”Resigning would have been a whole lot easier, I’ll tell you that,” Gamrat said. “But sometimes the easy roads aren’t the best roads to take.”
What gets me, like Ed over at HotAir.com, I am amazed it took so many votes. Either way, I’m glad they’re gone.
Others (via Memeorandum): Talking Points Memo, MLive.com, NPR, Raw Story, Political Wire, Detroit Free Press and Associated Press
This is an interesting development.
Richard Wershe Jr.— known as White Boy Rick — wore European suits and had a full head of hair when he gained notoriety as a teenage drug dealer in the 1980s.
In a Detroit courtroom today, the now bald 46-year-old had on green jail garb when he learned he will be resentenced for a drug crime committed at age 17, which could lead to his freedom.
Wayne County Circuit Judge Dana Hathaway issued the ruling and said her decision was based on case law related to juveniles and the evolution of penalties for drug crimes.
Wershe was quiet and stoic during the 5-minute hearing in the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice attended by friends and family, including his mother and 27-year-old son. About a dozen reporters and several photographers also gathered in the courtroom.
Wershe was convicted of possession with intent to deliver more than 650 grams of cocaine in 1988 and has spent the last 27 years in prison. Authorities said Wershe had eight kilos of high-grade powered cocaine worth about $5 million.
I remember when this man’s trial and sentencing happened back in the 1980’s. I never knew him personally, as he lived on the other side of town from me. However, I remember the buzz in the local media. There is alot more to Rick’s story, to put you up to speed, here are a few videos on the subject:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJWoqqMftis
For some context, watch these:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10SprwE0qmM
As you can see, Rick was used by the feds and then left in jail to rot. 😡
The truth is, that if Rick were a black man, he would already be out of jail. However, because Rick is a white man and because he happens to know a good deal about the corrupt workings of the Detroit police and the political elite class in Detroit and the federal government’s so called “war on drugs,” the feds want him to stay behind bars.
Here is hoping that Rick finally gets some justice in his very sad case.
Others: Raw Story and Guardian (via Memeoradum)
This is a big scandal in Michigan and it was exposed by the Detroit News, which is a right-leaning newspaper here in the Detroit area.
Via the Detroit News, where you can hear the recordings made:
Lansing — State Rep. Todd Courser planned the distribution of a fictional email alleging he had sex with a male prostitute in a bid to conceal his relationship with Rep. Cindy Gamrat, according to audio recordings obtained by The Detroit News.
Courser, a Lapeer Republican, said on one recording the email was designed to create “a complete smear campaign” of exaggerated, false claims about him and Gamrat so a public revelation about the legislators’ relationship would seem “mild by comparison.”
Interviews with former House employees and the recordings show freshman lawmakers Courser and Gamrat, R-Plainwell, used their taxpayer-funded offices to maintain and cover up their relationship. Courser, 43, and Gamrat, 42, rose from the ranks of tea party activism, battled establishment Republicans to win seats in the House last year and formed their own legislative coalition.
The real kicker is this:
The pair are socially conservative legislators who often invoke their Christian faith in pursuit of new legislation governing gun rights, abortion and marriage. Their political alliance dates back to Courser’s unsuccessful 2013 race for Michigan Republican Party chairman when Gamrat ran as his vice chairwoman.
But since being sworn into office in January,the self-described tea party “gladiators” have fought with Republican leaders. In an unusual move, Courser and Gamrat wrote a “liberty response” to Republican Gov. Rick Snyder’s State of the State address in January — the kind of retort that typically comes from Democrats.
In April, House Speaker Kevin Cotter kicked Gamrat out of Republican caucus meetings after she was caught leaking confidential discussions among GOP members. In one of his lengthy emails to people involved in Michigan politics, Courser called the House speaker a “bully” who was waging a “witch hunt” and who was “dead set against (Gamrat’s) efforts to advance liberty and freedom.”
The sad part:
“It will make anything else that comes out after that — that isn’t a video — mundane, tame by comparison,” Courser, a married father of four, told Graham.
[…]
During two meetings recorded by Graham, Courser and Gamrat, who is also married and has three children, did not dispute the aide’s characterization of their relationship as an extramarital affair. They acknowledged the aide’s discomfort but neither directly confirmed nor denied having a sexual relationship.
Here’s the deal, if these accusations are true and seeing that it was reported by the Detroit News; they most likely are. These two birds need to resign and I mean right away. This is not only a blemish on the conservative movement, the tea party; but also on the Republican Party in Michigan and the Republican Party and the Christian right as well.
Others via Memeorandum: Yahoo Politics, Guardian, Daily Mail, NPR, Slantpoint, The Daily Caller, Daily Kos, Political Wire, KFOR-TV, Fox News, Associated Press, Washington Post, Jezebel, Fusion, Raw Story, Right Wing Watch, Talking Points Memo and Lawyers, Guns & Money
Update: No sooner than I hit publish, I go back to the Detroit News website and I see that Michigan Rep. Candace Miller is calling for their resignation as well:
Lansing — U.S. Rep. Candice Miller on Friday called for the immediate resignation of state Rep. Todd Courser following a Detroit News report that the lawmaker tried to get a House aide to cover up his relationship with Rep. Cindy Gamrat.
“Based on these revelations, under no circumstance can Todd Courser continue to represent the residents of Lapeer County, who are good, hard working community and faith-based folks,” said Miller, a Harrison Township Republican, in a statement. “This behavior is a slap in their face, especially from someone who presents himself as a moralist.”
Miller’s resignation call came hours after House Speaker Kevin Cotter announced an “open ended” investigation in the conduct of Courser and Gamrat, who are freshman Republican lawmakers with deep ties to Michigan’s tea party movement.
Even the Tea Party people are saying that these two need to go as well:
One prominent southwest Michigan tea party leader also said Friday Courser and Gamrat should step down.
“I think probably the best thing for them to do is resign and get their own personal lives straightened out,” said Gene Clem, president of VanKal Patriots, a Van Buren and Kalamazoo county tea party group.
They’ll be gone by Monday, because this now is a major national story. They screwed themselves; and now they have to pay the piper. Sin does that, it only destroys, why it does not pay to do stuff like this, at all.
Of course, you know, the left is going to play this one for all it is worth. Considering what’s happening elsewhere.
Detroit — The 20-year-old armed robbery suspect who was fatally shot by a federal agent on Monday was “armed with a hammer,” Detroit’s police chief said Tuesday.The shooting, on the city’s west side, angered residents who had to be placated by the city’s police chief.The Detroit Fugitive Apprehension Team, a task force that included officers from the Detroit Police Department, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Marshals, were serving an armed robbery warrant in the 9500 block of Evergreen at the time of the shooting around 1:13 p.m., Detroit Police Chief James Craig said.The officers were allowed into the home to conduct their search, Craig said.The incident comes at a time of heightened tension between police and black communities in some U.S. cities, spurring a national debate about race and police tactics.In the Detroit incident, the suspect was black, as was the federal agent who shot him.
Source: Federal officer shoots, kills Detroit man one east side
The man was armed with a hammer, he tried to attack a federal officer, and he got shot. Just another day in the big city. But, as you know, because he is black, as was the agent that shot him; because of the stuff happening everywhere now, the left and their media lap-dogs are going to exploit this, in hopes that there is another riot in Detroit.
Because that, is what marxists do. Marxists exploit stuff like this to disrupt the system. You watch and see, summer is coming and Detroit has a white mayor. You watch, another uprising is coming and the marxists will be in the middle of it.
Related: WXYZ-TV: Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shoots, kills suspect on Detroit’s west side
Others –YMMV: ThinkProgress, Fusion, Detroit Free Press, Raw Story, ABC News and CBS Detroit
The story via WXYZ-TV:
Incumbent Rick Snyder has been re-elected as Michigan’s governor based on returns from key precincts around the state of Michigan, 7 Action News pollsters say.
Snyder defeated Democrat Mark Schauer after a tight race early in the polls.
In key precincts, Snyder defeated Schauer with 53 percent of the vote to 46 percent.
This is very good news. I voted a straight Republican Party ticket, as I simply do not trust the democrats to run this state again. Jennifer Granholm ruined that for me.
Let’s hope that Republicans pick up enough seats to take back the Senate, so that we can get back to running the Country.
I voted today and I hope you did too. As you all know, I am in Michigan and today we are having our primary for governor and several local seats. I voted for governor Snyder for governor of Michigan.
The reason why I voted for governor Snyder for governor of Michigan again is for the following reasons:
1. Governor Snyder passed expanded Medicaid for people like me who were long-term unemployed and fell through the cracks of Obamacare. Some people on the right here in Michigan did not like the fact that Governor Snyder passed expanded Medicaid. I am NOT one of those people. As some of you already know I have not worked for almost 10 years now, at least not for anybody else. I also found out this past year that I have diabetes type 2, and I also have high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Not to mention I also have ADHD and I take meds for it. So this expanded Medicaid for me was a blessing and for that I voted for governor Snyder again. Now I wasn’t too happy with the right to work law the governor Snyder passed, however as far as I can tell that law has not affected the big three at all which includes my Dad.
2. Quite frankly, I simply do not trust Democrats to run the state again. Jennifer Granholm’s tenure here as governor of the state of Michigan was an absolute freaking disaster. When the previous governor left office in the state of Michigan, the state of Michigan had a budget surplus. Jennifer Granholm left office, the state of Michigan was in so much debt it was unbelievable. To me, that points to incompetence. For this, I decided that I could no longer trust Democrats to run the state; and I voted for governor Snyder the first time and because of Governors accomplishments, I voted for him a second time.
I do pray the governor Snyder does win this election again. Because I would sure hate like hell to see this state go back into the craphole that it was, when Granholm was running it.
Here is hoping the governor Snyder wins again.
We lost the man who made “The Frost.” It’s a sad day for classic Rock and Roll in Michigan.
The Story:
It was a final medical battle Dick Wagner couldn’t win.
Wagner, the Michigan-bred guitarist renowned for his work with Alice Cooper, the Frost, Lou Reed and others, died this morning in Scottsdale, Ariz. He was 71.
Wagner succumbed to respiratory failure at Scottsdale Healthcare Shea Medical Center, where he had been in intensive care for the past two weeks following a cardiac procedure.
The guitarist had famously overcome a series of medical issues during the past decade, retraining himself on guitar after a stroke paralyzed his left arm. He re-emerged to begin recording, writing and performing gigs, including a triumphant homecoming concert at the Magic Bag in November 2011.
Wagner was born in Iowa, moved with his family to Waterford as a child, and later settled in Saginaw. He was a key figure in southeastern Michigan’s emergent rock scene in the 1960s, a go-to guitarist who made his name with the Bossmen and the Frost.
He was eventually recruited by Alice Cooper for the milestone 1972 album “Welcome to My Nightmare,” and went on to A-list session work with the likes of Reed, Peter Gabriel and Rod Stewart. Rock lore has long held that Wagner was a secret hired hand on albums by several high-profile bands.
via Dick Wagner, esteemed Michigan rock guitarist, dead at 71 | Detroit Free Press | freep.com.
Here’s “The Frost” at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mq1z_cYFrbs