An open Letter To My State Legislators In Lansing Regarding The Push To Increase The State Minimum Wage To Upwards Of $15/hr:

Sen. Dave Hildenbrand
Rep. Brandon Dillon

Gentlemen,

There has been a general outcry for an increase in Michigan’s minimum wage to upwards of $15/hour.  To say that such an increase would destroy Michigan’s economy and price the items we produce out of the reach of most Michiganders would be an understatement.

However, there is one piece of common sense legislation on which legislators on both sides of the aisle should be able to agree and pass quickly that would help address the concerns of the one industry that is spearheading this outcry - the food services industry.

Prior to 1964, tips, or gratuities, were a bonus given by a customer to their server in recognition for superior service.  Somewhere along the line, however, restauranteurs co-opted this practice, recognizing an opportunity to increase their profitability by turning tips into a piece of the basic wage structure and forcing customers to, in addition to paying for the food they receive, contribute directly to the wages of their servers.  The practice was driven by greed and is patently abusive.

We can change this - and we need to do so, NOW.

Repeal MCL 408.387:

408.387a Employees receiving gratuities; minimum hourly wage; “gratuities” defined.

Sec. 7a.
(1) The minimum hourly wage rate of an employee shall be $2.65 per hour if all of the following occur:
(a) The employee receives gratuities in the course of his or her employment.
(b) The gratuities described in subdivision (a) equal or exceed the difference between $2.65 per hour and the minimum hourly wage established under section 4.
(c) The gratuities are proven gratuities as indicated by the employee's declaration for federal insurance contribution act purposes.
(d) The employee was informed by the employer of the provisions of this section.
(2) As used in this section, “gratuities” means tips or voluntary monetary contributions received by an employee from a guest, patron, or customer for services rendered to that guest, patron, or customer and that the employee reports to the employer for purposes of the federal insurance contribution act, chapter 21 of subtitle C of the internal revenue code of 1986, 26 U.S.C. 3101 to 3128.

This is a common sense answer to a very real problem; this one action alone would help to take some of the wind out of the sails of the drive to increase the minimum wage to unrealistic, unsupportable levels.

Look at it this way: nearly every industry gives bonuses in recognition for superior performance.  While these bonuses are taxed, they are separate from the basic wage structure that makes up the foundation of the remuneration received by the employee.  The difference?  Bonuses paid to the employee in most industries are paid by the EMPLOYER (who does not reduce wages accordingly), not the CUSTOMER.  I can tell you with certainty that if the bonuses received by GM employees, for example, were transformed into part of their basic wage structure and their wages were reduced by an identical amount, every employee would walk off the job in protest, yet, this very same practice is considered to be acceptable in the food services industry - and in the food service industry, the employer keeps the difference as profit, essentially charging the customer two sets of prices, one for the prepared food, and the other for the service of that food.

This must change; it is 50 years overdue.

Do the right thing:  Repeal MCL 408.387

Sincerely,

Sec. Kerry And Keystone

In a recent meeting with Canadian officials, Sec. Kerry stated that the US won't be pressured into making a decision regarding the Keystone Pipeline.

Mr. Kerry, we the people of the United States DEMAND that the United States Government finalize this deal with Canada.  

In a time when more than twenty million citizens cannot find work and foreign oil producers continue to play games with oil production and prices, the twenty thousand jobs that will be realized with this one project alone is absolutely crucial, and it will help us achieve a bit more oil independence.

STOP PLAYING GAMES AND SIGN THE ACCORD WITH CANADA.

Black Students At The University Of Michigan Threaten "Physical Action" If Demands Are Not Met….

Members of U of M's Black Student Union issued a set of seven demands today "that they see as vital to improving life for minority students on campus" and gave the university seven days to take action - not respond, take action. Failure to meet their demands will result in unspecified "physical action" against the campus. When asked what this might mean, the spokesman for the group said, “We’re hoping it doesn’t have to come to that,” refusing to give any more details. Their demands?

• We demand that the university give us an equal opportunity to implement change, the change that complete restoration of the BSU purchasing power through an increased budget would obtain.

• We demand available housing on central campus for those of lower socio-economic status at a rate that students can afford, to be a part of university life, and not just on the periphery.

• We demand an opportunity to congregate and share our experiences in a new Trotter [Multicultural Center] located on central campus.

• We demand an opportunity to be educated and to educate about America’s historical treatment and marginalization of colored groups through race and ethnicity requirements throughout all schools and colleges within the university.

• We demand the equal opportunity to succeed with emergency scholarships for black students in need of financial support, without the mental anxiety of not being able to focus on and afford the university's academic life.

• We demand increased exposure of all documents within the Bentley (Historical) Library. There should be transparency about the university and its past dealings with race relations.

• We demand an increase in black representation on this campus equal to 10 percent.

So their demands come down to:

• You will give blacks subsidized housing in central campus
• You will increase the university's budget so that you can give the Black Student Union more money so that we can have "equal opportunity to implement change"
• You will give us a NEW cultural center at the center of campus; renovating our current structure is unacceptable.
• You will make emergency scholarships available FOR BLACKS ONLY; others can deal with the stress that comes with a lack of funds - not us
• You will let us develop curriculum that tells the world how blacks need quotas
• You will give preference to blacks in admissions until we reach 10% of the student population

Failure to capitulate to these demands in seven days will lead to "physical action" on the university campus.

Does that sound like a threat of violence to anyone else?

And does anyone else doubt that, if such a statement had been issued by any other group, they would have been tracked down, rounded up and charged with making terrorist threats?

Being Black at University of Michigan organizers threaten 'physical action' if demands aren't met | MLive.com

Sorry - I have supported the african-american community all of my adult life, my wife is african-american, but I cannot and will not support something like this.  It is a safe bet that acquiescence to these demands by the University of Michigan will lead to similar threats at campuses across the nation; this is a test case.

Betsy DeVos To GOP - If Dave Agema Stays, My Funding Goes….

[Betsy] DeVos, former state GOP chair, told Detroit News columnist Nolan Finley that Agema should resign his position as national Republican Party Committeeman after his latest round of inflammatory remarks about gays and Muslims.

Her rebuke of Republican Party leadership for failure to condemn “intolerance and insensitivity” included the veiled threat of financial reprisals if Agema is not removed from his post somehow.

“The expectation of leaders in a party is to stand up in situations like this,” she told the News. “Failing to do so will have consequences.”http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2014/01/betsy_devos_dave_agema.html#incart_2box

I have one question: after years of demonizing George Soros and Michael Bloomberg for the way they use their personal fortunes to control the platforms and policies of the Democratic Party, how does Betsy DeVos's threat to pull her substantial funding from the Republican Party unless they remove committeeman Dave Agema from his position differ one iota?

Dave Agema, current Republican Party committeman from Michigan, has made public statements recently regarding homosexuality, as well as continuing to publicly raise the alarm regarding increasing encroachments of Islam on our society - statements that the media and DeVos found to be objectionable.

However, the GOP have not taken steps to remove Agema from his position - an indicator that more than a few are in accord with his statements.

Enter Betsy DeVos, former chairperson of the Michigan State GOP.

Armed with her personal fortune, the Amway heiress has decided to force the GOP to bow to her will - and remove Agema from party leadership.

How?

By taking her considerable funding away from them.

I guess she has finally taken the lessons learned from the two arch enemies of the GOP, Soros and Bloomberg, to heart.

So once again I ask, in what way is she any different?

Administration Puts The Nation's Schools On Notice...

"Attorney General Eric Holder called upon the nation’s school districts Wednesday to rethink “zero tolerance” disciplinary policies that he said disproportionately punish minorities and push too many students into the justice system.

“Alarming numbers of young people are suspended, expelled or even arrested for relatively minor transgressions like school uniform violations, schoolyard fights or showing 'disrespect' by laughing in class,” Holder said during a speech in Baltimore.

Holder’s remarks accompanied the release Wednesday of new federal guidance from the departments of Justice and Education pressing schools to adopt disciplinary policies that are “fair, nondiscriminatory, and effective.”

The guidance lays out the parameters of punishment as governed by federal civil rights protections, alternatives to exclusionary discipline and a comprehensive list of regulations on the books in every state," http://thehill.com/blogs/regwatch/administration/194790-holder-school-discipline-racially-biased-overly-harsh#ixzz2qPkCWLff 

 Holder's call originates with the executive order issued by the President in July, 2012, called the "White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans," which demands race-based disciplinary policies in schools, permitting african-american students to engage in behaviors that would result in disciplinary action if committed by non-minority students:

"EXECUTIVE ORDER

- - - - - - -

WHITE HOUSE INITIATIVE ON EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE FOR AFRICAN AMERICANS

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, to restore the country to its role as the global leader in education, to strengthen the Nation by improving educational outcomes for African Americans of all ages, and to help ensure that all African Americans receive an education that properly prepares them for college, productive careers, and satisfying lives, it is hereby ordered as follows…

…. African Americans lack equal access to highly effective teachers and principals, safe schools, and challenging college-preparatory classes, and THEY DISPROPORTIONATELY EXPERIENCE SCHOOL DISCIPLINE AND REFERRALS TO SPECIAL EDUCATION. African American student achievement not only lags behind that of their domestic peers by an average of two grade levels, but also behind students in almost every other developed nation. Over a third of African American students do not graduate from high school on time with a regular high school diploma, and only four percent of African American high school graduates interested in college are college-ready across a range of subjects. An even greater number of African American males do not graduate with a regular high school diploma, AND AFRICAN AMERICAN MALES ALSO EXPERIENCE DISPARATE RATES OF INCARCERATION.

(iii) decreasing the disproportionate number of referrals of African American children from general education to special education by addressing the root causes of the referrals AND ERADICATING DISCRIMINATORY REFERRALS;

(iv) implementing successful and innovative education reform strategies and practices in America's public schools to ensure that African American students receive a rigorous and well-rounded education in safe and healthy environments, and have access to high-level, rigorous course work and support services that will prepare them for college, a career, and civic participation;

(v) ensuring that all African American students have comparable access to the resources necessary to obtain a high-quality education, including effective teachers and school leaders, in part by supporting efforts to improve the recruitment, preparation, development, and retention of successful African American teachers and school leaders and other effective teachers and school leaders responsible for the education of African American students;

(vi) reducing the dropout rate of African American students and helping African American students graduate from high school prepared for college and a career, IN PART BY PROMOTING A POSITIVE SCHOOL CLIMATE THAT DOES NOT RELY ON METHODS THAT RESULT IN DISPARATE USE OF DISCIPLINARY TOOLS, and by supporting successful and innovative dropout prevention and recovery strategies that better engage African American youths in their learning, help them catch up academically, and provide those who have left the educational system with pathways to reentry…," all caps added for emphasis.

The full text of this executive order that mandates racially-based disciplinary policies that favor african-american students and requires schools to accept levels of unacceptable behaviors from african-american students that would be disciplined if committed by students of other races/ethnicities can be found here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/.../...

In short, the Obama EO and Holder's remarks are an effort to enshrine Paul Butler's principles of race-based jury nullification (in which he states that black jurors have a moral obligation to acquit black offenders whom they know, based on the evidence, to be guilty of a given crime, in an effort to keep more black males in their home communities) in the public schools. The problem with this line of thinking is that it forces the affected community to resign themselves to a reality that accepts a level of lawlessness, violence, or other socially unacceptable behaviors as a normal part of the daily experience if that is what it takes to keep more blacks in the particular community.

"Somebody's Gotta Get Fired…"

The Today Show, 1/9/2103

Chuck Todd, Chief White House Correspondent: "There's either one or two things goin' on: either Chris Christie knew and he's now lied in that statement, or you take him at his word and he doesn't even have control of his own chief deputies, that there is a culture in his office where doing something like this political retribution is acceptable behavior…

Matt Lauer: "What does he have to do to try to get his arms around, or try to get control of this story?"

Chuck Todd: "He's gotta own this, and somebody's gotta get fired. Obviously, he says he doesn't know, that this was unsanctioned behavior, how is it that this person hasn't been fired yet…?"

Where was all this moral outrage as Eric Holder, Hillary Clinton, and other members of the Obama administration were blatantly flaunting the law and engaging in activities that got people killed? Where was this rush to hold Obama accountable when he claimed ignorance regarding the actions of his chief deputies? Who stepped up and said, "He's gotta own this, and somebody's gotta get fired...?" Fast and Furious, Benghazi, the IRS political retribution scandal?  Any of this ring a bell?  The CHIEF EXECUTIVE of the NATION cannot be held responsible for the actions of his underlings, is not required to own what has happened in his own administration, but a governor who aspires to the White House (but for whom I will never vote) is REQUIRED to both OWN the problem and TAKE ACTION against those who perpetrated them?

Matt Lauer, Chuck Todd: if it is right to hold Governor Christie responsible for this event, then it is IMPERATIVE that you apply the same standard to President Barak H. Obama and DEMAND that he both OWN and PROSECUTE the misdeeds of his chief deputies.
http://video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/54020537

Pres. Obama and the "Chains of the Constitution"

Some time ago, Pres. Obama made a remark regarding his frustration with the way Constitutional constraints hampered his efforts to reshape America according to his own ideals:

"It turns out our Founders designed a system that makes it more difficult to bring about change that I would like sometimes.  But what I have been able to do is move in the right direction..."

And, for once, he nails it. 

It cannot be expressed any better than the following words penned by Thomas Jefferson in the Kentucky Resolutions:

"...in questions of power then, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the constitution…"

Mr. President, when the direction you desire to go conflicts with, or diverges from, the directions established in our Constitution, you are going in the WRONG direction.  End of story.

It is past time to re-bind our government with the chains of the Constitution that were intended to safeguard the enumerated rights of the States, and more importantly, the People.