Ojibway Correctional Facility...

The Michigan Department of Corrections is planning to close the Ojibway Correctional Facility in Marinesco, MI, on an effort to save $19 million.

 This region is already financially depressed - and has been for generations. It isn't just about high unemployment numbers, this area has one of the highest poverty levels in the entire US. Over the decades, they have absorbed loss after loss: the loss of the mining industry with all of its attendant enterprises and job shops, a dwindling lumber industry, and now these folks are expected to absorb a $70+ million dollar hit to their economy: $21 million lost wages, $50-$55 million in other prison related expenses.  This may not be a significant number to folks in Lansing or other large, downstate communities, but to those in Marinesco, Bessemer, Wakefield, and other local communities that support this facility, this is a devestating figure.

And it isn't just about moving jobs 250 miles to Newberry.  A number of the facility employees are ALREADY driving substantial distances from homes in Hurley, WI, Bessemer, Ironwood, and other distant communities.  Promising to help some transfer to other facilities involves more than additional distance. These people have families enrolled in local schools; that translates to a loss of state aid to local school districts, leading to the loss of teachers and staff, possibly requiring the shuttering of local schools and requiring costly and time-consuming bussing to other districts.  These people also own homes that will have to be sold.  How do you propose to transfer employees to a new community, taking on new mortgages or rents, while continuing to pay mortgages on homes that, in this area, will remain on the market for months or YEARS before selling, if ever? 

This facility is one of the best-run facilities in the state.  It is also one of the newer facilities, and it went through extensive upgrades and renovations just a few years ago.  Even the MDOC has to admit that the prisoners housed in this facility are model prisoners, being well-prepared to re-enter society as productive citizens (https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2018/08/14/ojibway-correctional-facility-michigan-prison/985771002/).  Moving prisoners to Jackson, on the other hand, as has already happened, or other such facilities that are not nearly as well run and that house prisoner populations that are far more violent is counter-productive and will lead to higher rates of rescidivism among the former inmates of Ojibway.   YOU claim that keeping these prisoners in the Ojibway facility would be vengeful; I believe the available data prove otherwise.  It is in their best interest to continue to be housed here.

Past analysis regarding the possible closure of this facility concluded that doing so was untenable to the local communities due to the disparate - even catastrophic - effect the closure would have on them.  The state chose on the basis of these studies to keep it open in the recent past, and while it might not be intended to be a jobs program, neither is it morally or ethically supportable to locate such facilities in depressed areas where they become integrated into the local economies and then rip them out without regard for the catastrophic effect such actions will have.

There are older, more poorly run facilities that are far better candidates for closure than the Ojibway Correctional Facility. 

Why Care About the Preamble to the Bill of Rights?

The Preamble establishes the reason for the existence of a given document. It establishes context of the document and is foundational to properly understand and interpret the document. It gives us the Who, the What, and the Why behind the creation of the document.

The Preamble to the American Bill of Rights, for example, details why the US Founding Fathers believed the document to be necessary and states the thesis of the document:

“THE Conventions of a number of the States having at the time of their adopting the Constitution, expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added: And as extending the ground of public confidence in the Government, will best insure the beneficent ends of its institution…”

Who called for its authorship? The representatives of the States.

Why did they believe it to be necessary? “… to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers… [and to] extend[ing] the ground of public confidence in the Government..” They believed the US Constitution didn’t go far enough to protect the God-given rights of citizens, especially in light of the creation of a standing army, which several of the Founders had previously observed, was, historically, always eventually used as a weapon against the people.

For what purpose was the document written according to the Preamble? To add “… further declaratory and restrictive clauses…” to our Constitution. In other words, the limit the authority and reach of the US federal government.

If you take the resulting Amendments to the Constitution that comprise the Bill of Rights out of this context, you can justify alternate understandings.

So, for instance, the US courts have concluded that the Second Amendment, "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed," applies to a standing army. But if the bill of Rights was intended to restrict the government and limit its authority, how can this be? The standing army must follow the orders of the Commander in Chief and carry out the wishes of the federal government. In what way does this restrict the government? It doesn’t. So given the context established by the Preamble, the Second Amendment must, of necessity, apply to another entity - the Citizen Militia. The Citizen Militia exists to act as a counter-balance to the federal government, to act if the government becomes tyrannical.

By taking the Fourth Amendment, “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized,” out of the context established by the Preamble, courts have determined that the government IS permitted to conduct warrantless surveillance of our citizens. The purpose of the Fourth Amendment was to make it more difficult for the government to conduct searches, surveillance, and seizure - not less. So given the context established by the Preamble, there is no enumerated right or exception under which the government is permitted to conduct ANY kind of search or surveillance on citizens unless ALL of the requirements outlined in the Fourth Amendment are met.

These are just two examples.

The Preamble, then, is critical to a proper understanding of the resultant document; ignore it, and anything can be justified.

9-11, 2018...

Never forget.

Conversation With My State Senator's Office Re: His Sponsorship Of The Unconstitutional National Popular Vote Compact....

Just had a very HEATED conversation with Fred, the gatekeeper in Sen. Hildenbrand's office. I called to make my views known on the bill sponsored by Sen. Hildenbrand regarding the national popular vote compact, and was essentially told that A) I didn't know what I was talking about, and B) my views didn't matter. I asked him about the supposed "fairness" of a scheme that nullifies MICHIGAN votes because states like California issue driver's licenses - and unquestioned VOTING RIGHTS - to millions of illegal aliens. He tried to convince me in one breath that this scheme would insure that every vote in Michigan would count, then told me in the next breath that Michigan electoral votes would go to the candidate who wins the national popular vote. HUH?!  How does this ensure every vote counts if they are simply all given to the person who wins the national popular vote?  That is THROWING AWAY votes.

The national popular vote will concentrate the voting power in the hands of the voters of a few states, disenfranchising smaller states. I was told the Senator doesn't see it this way, that the national popular vote will somehow motivate presidential candidates to visit smaller states to gather their popular votes. No, they have to visit smaller states NOW because THEY NEED EVERY ELECTORAL VOTE THEY CAN GET.

And WHY is he in favor of this scheme? 

Because republicans can't motivate voters to go to the polls, particularly in areas that historically vote heavily democrat. These voters don't think going to the polls will make any difference, I was told. At which point I asked him WHY voters should trust republicans, since they have done nothing but lie to their base. Run on deficit reduction and then pass some of the worst, highest deficit-producing budgets this country has seen in generations. Run on pro-Second Amendment platforms, then pass gun control. The list goes on. I told him the basic problem is a TRUST issue that has NOTHING TO DO WITH THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE, at which point I was informed that the senator doesn't see it that way and is going full steam ahead with the legislation regardless of the feedback he receives.

MI SB 1117, National Popular Vote Compact...

Sen. Hildenbrand, 

I am publicly asking you to withdraw your sponsorship of this unConstitutional scheme! This will destroy our republic, concentrating voting power in the hands of voters from a very few states. 

Remember, sir, it is, under our Constitution, the STATES that elect presidents; the electoral college insures that the STATES are equally represented in elections.  We are not a democracy - never have been.

“Well, Doctor, what have we got—a Republic or a Monarchy?”

  “A Republic, if you can keep it,” Benjamin Franklin.

If this goes through, we lose our republic.

Gun Free Zone Sign? You First!