Protecting the Children from NRA blood money.

When I had a newspaper job in a local community, I encountered a tragic story regarding a kindergarten student who unwittingly chased his art work beneath the tandem wheels of his school bus.

It was back in the time when a child hand carried their school work home.  A five-year-old was holding a construction paper picture colored with tempera paint flapping in the wind as he stepped off of the bus stairway at the stop near his house.  When the wind gusted and swept the picture away and under the bus, he chased got on his hands and knees to chase it down.

The bus driver started rolling as soon as the children who stepped off of the bus were out of the driver's sight.

That, and other tragedies where kids ran in front of a bus before it started rolling resulted in quickly defined laws to fund the purchase and installation of mirrors which provided an all around view of the bus from the driver's seat.

As a separate check, someone designed a bar which swept in front of the bus that would not allow the driver to proceed if it struck an object too close to the bumper for the driver to see below the vehicle's hood.

Oh, the speeches, from school board to city council to county commission to state legislature to the governor's office about how important it was to protect children from the insidious and irresponsible use of a school bus.

So, today, I hear on the radio about a shooting in a school in Connecticut.

Initial stories said the gun toter was dead and three people wounded; not a pleasant event for a school, but it sounded like the kids were safe.

But, as the hours ticked by, the news reported 100 shots in quick succession, and the death toll increased to the point where it made no sense, except perhaps to the troubled young man who perpetuated the act.

He was apparently troubled by learning disabilities, and for whatever reason, found at least two guns with a significant ammunition supply, and took them to the school to shoot his mother, five-year-olds, staff people at random.

I'll be curious to see if the 20 kids wiped out in their school will be valued as much as the children who were killed by school buses once the NRA and Walmart lobby to protect gun ownership.

Laborer as Employer

Back in the early 70s, I was a resident of Detroit.

As a resident of The City, I faced an issue with a teacher strike against the Detroit Board of Education.  The schools were shut down for several weeks after the usual start of the year because "the teachers" wanted better wages.

I worked as a journalist, and was involved in organizing workers in my news outlet under The Newspaper Guild (TNG).

At that time TNG represented writers, editors, and advertising sales people for the Detroit Free Press, the guards and custodians at The Detroit News, reporters at the Michigan Catholic, and writers working for the UAW world headquarters in Detroit (Solidarity House).  My unit, Associated Newspapers, was seeking recognition from an outfit known as Panax, later publishers of the Washington Times (before Sun Myung Moon bought it), and a publishing empire in South Africa where apartheid labor practices more mimicked the corporate attitude toward workers (look for John P McGoff on the web -- may he rest in peace with his riches).

As a taxpayer, I disliked the idea of "workers" asking for more wages at the expense of my taxes.

But, once I considered what I was doing in my workplace, I realized that as a Union member, my allegiances changed when I became a taxpayer.

Being the Christian sort, I wondered if what was good for me was likewise good for my fellow man.

Believing in the words of Jesus, I discovered the meaning of his "do unto others" counsel.

If I expected an employer to respond to my needs as a worker, when I became the employer (as in being a taxpayer), I had to agree that those who worked "for me" deserved the same.

I rejected the Jerry Fallwell / Jim Baker counsel to "do unto me; and forget about those not as worthy as me."

The issue is what the workers in Wisconsin face with their public employees.

It's one thing to be the employee and "demand" justice from the employer.
It's another to be the "employer" (as in taxpayer) and recognize that my "employees" are owed the same respect I demand in my behalf.

Doesn't mean the tension of finding an economic common ground should be ignored.  Just means that the right to seek that ground belongs to public as well as private employees.

My enemies are those who take from all, not those who are trying to make their families as secure as I choose to make mine.

From the Tea Bagged Fiefdom of Michigan

Michigan residents won a minor victory when the Michigan Supreme Court ruled in favor of a 2008 Medical Marijuana Law passed by popular vote (passed by 63-percent of the voting public).

 Detroit Free Press: Michigan's medical marijuana law shields patients


The law was contested by the State Attorney General (Bill Schuette) following the 2010 Tea Bagging when all the State level administrative offices went to Republicans, the State House went over to Republican control, the State Senate saw its Republican majority increased, and the Supreme Court retained its 4-3 majority of Republican-backed candidates.

The victory is minor, because it addresses a sideshow issue to the Republican agenda in Michigan.

At this time, residents in Michigan have presented petitions a ballot initiate to overthrow the state's "Emergency Manager" law.

The original 1990 Public Act 72 was changed during the 2010 legislature session to allow the state declare a "financial emergency" in a government entity before the community reaches the 1990 standard, or requests a review of its financial stability:

 Firedog Lake: Context on Michigan's Financial Manager Law>

 That petition is being contested because, though containing enough signatures to get the question on the ballot, the board of canvassers have not approved it following one member's assertion that the typeface on the petition didn't meet a print size standard.

Mlive:  Deadlocked vote on petitions


Mlive: Coalition calls foul over font size


The contention over the type face issue is expected to be resolved at the State Supreme Court.

The Emergency Manager petition effort is similar to that which put the Medical Marijuana initiative on the 2008 ballot.

I suspect that the public will get things that don't mean that much to the sociopaths who have purchased the allegiance of the Republican Party (American Legislative Exchange Council, Koch Industries, et al), but when it comes to their interests (follow the money), the people won't prevail.