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The Michigan Messenger going forward

By Staff Report | 11.16.11

I am writing today to announce the closure of the Michigan Messenger. After four years of operation in Michigan, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news into a single site, The American Independent at Americanindependent.com. This is part of a shift in strategy, towards new forms [...]

Colorado-based abstinence program provided false and misleading information to Michigan students

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By Todd A. Heywood | 11.16.11

An abstinence-only presentation provided to numerous school districts in Calhoun and Eaton Counties in October of this year provided false and misleading information to students about HIV, experts allege.

Class action lawsuit filed against MERS over unpaid taxes

foreclosure
By Todd A. Heywood | 11.15.11

Two county registers of deeds filed a class action lawsuit Monday on behalf of Michigan’s 83 counties alleging that the Mortgage Electronic Registration Services owes millions of dollars in property title transfer taxes.

Schuette fights important mercury regulations

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By Eartha Jane Melzer | 11.14.11

Despite evidence of the impact of mercury on children and public health, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette last month joined with 24 other state attorneys general in filing a lawsuit to scuttle new EPA regulations that would reduce mercury emissions from power plants.

Palin: Intrepid earmark hater, part 2

By Ed Brayton | 09.04.08 | 2:13 pm

Here’s Sarah Palin from her speech last night presenting herself as the scourge of federal earmarks:

“I have protected the taxpayers by vetoing wasteful spending … and championed reform to end the abuses of earmark spending by Congress. I told the Congress ‘thanks but no thanks’ for that Bridge to Nowhere.”

And here’s our sister site, the Washington Independent, which found a memo from Palin’s time as mayor of Wasilla where she circled the amount of earmarked federal dollars her city had received, noted that it didn’t include all the money they had gotten, and celebrated how much they’d gotten:

Take, for example, Wasilla City Council Informational Memorandum 99-62, prepared on June 14, 1999. This little gem outlines some of the state-funded projects that Wasilla City secured that year, including $1.2 million for storm water treatment and $605,000 for pedestrian pathways.

Then, slapped in the margin, former Mayor Sarah Palin — reformer extraordinaire — scribbled the following message:

FYI This does not include our nearly one million Dollars from the Feds for our Airport Paving Project.

We did well!!!

She’s so excited by those earmarks that she declares “we did well” with three exclamation points. Sometimes the jokes just write themselves. You can see the actual memo and her handwritten comments here.

Comments

  • Kwaayesnama

    EARMARK IS NOT A DIRTY WORD
    I am a 60 year old, registered Republican grandmother from Sedona, AZ. It’s funny how your world view changes when you have precious grandchildren. The reason I am supporting Barack Obama is because I feel that John McCain is out of touch with Arizona and the American people. As an Arizona Republican I received a fundraising letter from the McCain campaign. I sent it back with a note that says I will donate exactly the same amount that John McCain has requested in earmarks for our state. McCain’s call to fame is that he is the only representative in Washington never to request any earmarks for his home state. What does that prove? In my estimation John McCain has been the laziest representative in Washington in the last 26 years! To me it shows that in McCain’s mind Arizona does not need any assistance from Washington. He is happy to see all the tax dollars that we send to DC go to other states. Arizona has Indian Reservations with unemployment over 60%. We have beautiful rural areas that would greatly benefit from an increase in tourism. McCain’s lack of concern for Arizona shows that when John and Cindy fly over our state in their private plane that they do not pay attention to the people that live outside of Scottsdale. Lets see if in November the citizens of Arizona will send him a message and not vote for him. So this educated, white, Christian, Republican grandmother will be donating, ZERO, NOTHING, NONE, NADA! To the McCain Campaign. I did donate to the Obama campaign….

  • Kwaayesnama

    EARMARK IS NOT A DIRTY WORD
    I am a 60 year old, registered Republican grandmother from Sedona, AZ. It’s funny how your world view changes when you have precious grandchildren. The reason I am supporting Barack Obama is because I feel that John McCain is out of touch with Arizona and the American people. As an Arizona Republican I received a fundraising letter from the McCain campaign. I sent it back with a note that says I will donate exactly the same amount that John McCain has requested in earmarks for our state. McCain’s call to fame is that he is the only representative in Washington never to request any earmarks for his home state. What does that prove? In my estimation John McCain has been the laziest representative in Washington in the last 26 years! To me it shows that in McCain’s mind Arizona does not need any assistance from Washington. He is happy to see all the tax dollars that we send to DC go to other states. Arizona has Indian Reservations with unemployment over 60%. We have beautiful rural areas that would greatly benefit from an increase in tourism. McCain’s lack of concern for Arizona shows that when John and Cindy fly over our state in their private plane that they do not pay attention to the people that live outside of Scottsdale. Lets see if in November the citizens of Arizona will send him a message and not vote for him. So this educated, white, Christian, Republican grandmother will be donating, ZERO, NOTHING, NONE, NADA! To the McCain Campaign. I did donate to the Obama campaign….

  • Kwaayesnama

    EARMARK IS NOT A DIRTY WORD
    I am a 60 year old, registered Republican grandmother from Sedona, AZ. It’s funny how your world view changes when you have precious grandchildren. The reason I am supporting Barack Obama is because I feel that John McCain is out of touch with Arizona and the American people. As an Arizona Republican I received a fundraising letter from the McCain campaign. I sent it back with a note that says I will donate exactly the same amount that John McCain has requested in earmarks for our state. McCain’s call to fame is that he is the only representative in Washington never to request any earmarks for his home state. What does that prove? In my estimation John McCain has been the laziest representative in Washington in the last 26 years! To me it shows that in McCain’s mind Arizona does not need any assistance from Washington. He is happy to see all the tax dollars that we send to DC go to other states. Arizona has Indian Reservations with unemployment over 60%. We have beautiful rural areas that would greatly benefit from an increase in tourism. McCain’s lack of concern for Arizona shows that when John and Cindy fly over our state in their private plane that they do not pay attention to the people that live outside of Scottsdale. Lets see if in November the citizens of Arizona will send him a message and not vote for him. So this educated, white, Christian, Republican grandmother will be donating, ZERO, NOTHING, NONE, NADA! To the McCain Campaign. I did donate to the Obama campaign….

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