Euphoria Turns To Apprehension

  Euphoria Turns to Apprehension

 

      Hackneyed as it is, what a difference a week makes, is true when it comes to the total ban on smoking in bars, restaurants, VFW halls, casinos, and cigar bars.

      Last week the anti smoking lobbying was overjoyed by the out of nowhere senate vote to ban tobacco all over the state.  That was quickly replaced this week with fears that the ban would be nibbled to death by the casinos, the cigar bars, and others who seek exemptions from the total ban.

     "We are upset," laments Katherine Knoll from the American Heart Association.  She tells FOX2 News that the house should not be considering any carve outs for special interests.

       Tell that to the special interests. They won round one in the House where the anti-smokers had their fingers crossed the house will merely rubber stamp what the senate did and send it merrily along to the governor for her signature.

       Instead the vote was scrubbed giving the casinos et.al. more time to work their magic on lawmakers to get what they want.

       They have even found a sympathetic ear with one of the major sponsors of the total ban.  Flint democrat Rep. Brenda Clack does not want to ban smoking in cigar bars and while she says she wants a total ban everywhere else, she concedes she may have to compromise and grant even more exemptions.

      Casinos continue to beat the drum that 15-25% of the Detroit casino workers will be out of work if smokers can't puff away thus driving them to Tribal casinos where the ban would not apply.

      The anti smokers contend if those same workers are exposed to second hand smoke, they won't be out of work, they'll be out of life.

      Stay tuned as all this comes to a head next week where a total ban on smoking, celebrated by many one week ago, is now on life support.

       

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Tilting At Windmills

  Tilting At Windmills

 

     Don Quixote meet David Law.  David Law meet Don Quixote.

     Oakland County Rep. David Law is acting like the fictional character who had a penchant for tilting at windmills but never connecting.

     Law continues on his mission to "pressure the governor" to step into the sordid mess called the Kwame Kilpatrick text-messaging saga.  And he believes he got a boost from the Detroit City Council which has asked the governor to get in, too.

     "It adds some traction," the GOP lawmaker opines while at the same time expressing the desire to hook up with all those democrats on the city council to nudge the governor off the sidelines and into the game.

      "She has to take action," Law argues and "not acting may be the easy thing to do, but it's not always the right thing to do."

     Well Don, err Mr. Law, here are the facts of life.  The governor is in no hurry to get her hands soiled in this story.  She will take her sweet ole time once the council forwards all of its "evidence" in the case.

     While Law thinks she has to act, the fact is she does not. Period.

     From day one, the governor has said she wants the legal process to work its way before she considers taking any action if at all.

    Law's not buying that.  "That could take years and quite frankly the city and South East Michigan don't have years to wait."

    He may be right, but that don't make no never mind.  His resolution to "pressure" the governor will languish in the democratically controlled house where it has not even been referred to a committee for review.

    But Mr. Law will continue to tilt away nonetheless.  It might actually help him get elected county prosecutor.

    

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Profits Vs. Life

   Profits Vs. Life

 

      As crass as it may sound, the vote this week in the Michigan House to ban smoking in saloons and restaurants comes down to a battle of profits vs. life.  There is no other way to frame it.

      Pimping for profits:  The Detroit casinos.  Fighting for lives: The do-gooders in the anti smoking lobby.

      It comes down to this.  When the senate approved the ban last week there were no exemptions.  The feeling was if second hand smoke is bad for your health, it should apply across the board to every bar, eatery, casino, veteran's halls, you name it.

      But when the house adopted the prohibition earlier this year, it wrote an exemption for the casinos and a few others.

      The American Cancer Society and the American Lung Association of Michigan, affectionately known as the "Lungers", are afraid the casinos will toss around their weight and open their check books and force the house to give the casinos a pass.

      The private casino operators know if they are included in the ban, some gamblers may go to Indian owned casinos where state law does not apply.  In other words, Detroit casinos could lose a bundle if they lose customers who want to smoke and gamble away their lives and their riches at the same time.

      If MGM Grand, Greektown, and Motor City get the exemption, the bill has to go back to the senate for ratification and the anti-smokers fear the measure could die.

     Reminded that the casinos have big bucks in this showdown, the head of the cancer society noted, "We have people power."

     We're about to witness which side has more legislative clout.

     Any bets on who wins?

      

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Jack Who Takes On Levin

Jack Who Takes On Levin

 

       During his 30 years in the U.S. Senate one of the annoying inconveniences of life for Carl Levin has been running for reelection.  That's because  the state GOP has been unable to scrounge up a challenger who made Mr. Levin break a sweat.

       Jack Hoogendyk has all the potential to keep the string going because you're going Jack who?  Right?

       The affable and conservative lawmaker from Kalamazoo supposedly filed enough petition signatures to gain the right to take on Levin and become the next sacrificial lamb to try but fail to oust the popular incumbent.

      "I am honored and humbled," that 300 volunteers helped me collect the 30,000 signatures that we are turning in, Hoogy tells reporters in this town.

       That was the easy part.

        Now how does he succeed where legions before him have failed?

      "Levin will have a tough time defending three areas.  (1) He's for higher taxes. (2) He's for big government and (3) he's for spending with no end in sight.  The voters are fed up," the GOP hopeful begins.

       With all due respect, that's pretty much the same boilerplate lingo others have used to no avail, and voters apparently have not had enough of Levin who begins the race with a comfortable 54%-37% margin over the challenger who called it a "pretty good start."

       Here are the facts of life:  Levin will have a war chest as big as Rhode Island.  Hoogendyk won't.  Levin has won with a coalition of died in the wool democrats along with independents and a smattering of republicans.  Hoogendyk will probably hold the far right wing of the GOP and that may be it.  Levin has the mantle of invincibility.  Hoogendyk has a campaign slogan that could cost him votes.

       On all of his campaign literature is the logo "Jack08."

       How long do you think it will take the democrats to start calling Hoogendyk "Jack0?"

      Jacko as in Michael Jackson.

      "That's the first I've heard of that," Hoogendyk laughed when the subject was brought up adding, "Hey what ever gets people's attention you want."

        Yeah, but do you want to be associated with the oft maligned Mr. Jackson.

        Jack08 answers, "No comment."

         Nuf said.

      

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Whole New Buffalo World

  Whole New Buffalo World

 

     As chatter continues that a casino could be coming to Oakland County, please note what has happened on the other side of the state.

    Tucked down in the southwest corner of the state and pretty much out of the mainstream of media attention, the tiny town of New Buffalo is experiencing a renaissance complete with new construction in the old downtown and new condos popping up along Lake Michigan.  Heads up Pontiac.

     And they can thank the original inhabitants of the area for this rebirth.

     The year old tribal casino is raking in the cash.

     But gambling critics contend when you bring in the slots, you bring in the crime.

     "A lot of people say that, but we haven't seen that," reports county Sheriff Paul Baily who has forged an unusual relationship with his tribal counterparts.

      It's called cross-deputization and it's working.

      The sheriff has sworn in five tribal officers who work the reservation but can also cross over into the township to fight crime there, too.  And in an out of the ordinary agreement, the local sheriff's deputies are allowed on the tribal grounds to return the favor.

       "We even share an office on the reservation and they pay for it," smiles Baily.

        How'd he pull that off when other tribes are dead set against the local cops setting foot on their land?

       "I've lived here all my life.  I know the tribal leaders," he simply explains.

        So together they keep the crime down, the slots keep rollin' while the money keeps rollin' in at a million dollars a day.

        Now you know why they call it New Buffalo, and why the sheriff has that big smile.

        Hence if they can do it over there, maybe it could happen over here but there are a ton of hurdles to overcome first.

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Banning Cells and Text Messaging

 Banning Cells and Text Messaging

 

       Lawmakers use to joke that they could safely vote for a cigarette tax increase because 70% of the voters didn't smoke.  But when it comes to banning cell phones and text messaging while driving your car, that's a different story.

       Seems like everybody and his uncle is out there on the ditches with one hand on the wheel and another on the Blackberry, cell phone, or heaven forbid, both.

       Yet a trio of lawmakers are crusading to ban the practice suggesting that lives will be saved. 

        Actually Michigan and the United States are far behind the curve.  46 counties including Great Brittan already do it while only five states have such prohibitions.

       The father of a 12-year-old boy told a house committee this week that he lost his son after a woman, on a cell phone, plowed into the family car after she ran a red light and never hit the brakes.

       Rep. Fred Miller (D) Macomb County was moved by the testimony and changed his no vote to a yes.  However the Michigan State Police, which is in the business of traffic safety, does not support the cell ban while backing the text-messaging proposal.

       MSP lobbyist Matt Bolger tells FOX 2 that it is "not reasonable" to do that because then you'd have to outlaw other driving distractions such as eating, fixing your make-up and what all.

      "That's disappointing," says Rep. Gino Polidori who would love to have the MSP on board. Regardless he is not giving up, but if a lawmaker was looking for a reason to kill this legislation, he or she can hide behind the state police opposition.

        In other words don't look for a ban anytime soon. 

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So Much For University Autonomy

  So Much For University Autonomy

 

       State law is very clear:  Every university in this state has autonomy which in plain English means, the legislature and governor can't order the schools to do anything.  It says so, right there in the Michigan Constitution.  It was inserted to cut down on the political interference of state officials.

       Tell that to Gov. Jennifer Granholm.  She has injected herself smack dab in the middle of the hunt for a new president at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti.

       The embattled school's self-concept has long suffered being the weak sister of that "other" school in nearby Ann Arbor.  And then there was the celebrated murder on the campus that the school botched and of course the flap over a multi-million residence for the EMU president who resigned.

       So the eight-member university board is looking for someone to paste stuff back together and State School Superintendent Mike Flanagan believes he's the man for the job and the governor agrees.

       Granholm has reportedly been working the phones and her media secretary claims Flanagan is the kind of leader who can be the "healer" EMU needs.

       Flanagan, despite his lack of hands on higher education experience and lack of a PhD, has a shot at it because the governor appointed seven of the eight members on the board.  This is not to imply that he is not qualified but one higher education source familiar with the process claims the selection process was compromised.

       The board is reportedly "all over the lot" with no clear consensus yet don't under estimate the governor's influence as the board huddles on Saturday to make a decision.

       There's an upside and downside to all this.  If Flanagan gets the post, the governor looks strong and in control.  If he does not, she looks weak with no control.

       But more importantly, how does EMU look if it appears it buckled to outside pressure...which is actually why the framers of the constitution inserted that little autonomy clause in the first place.

       

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