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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.

Republicans recant plans to foreclose voters but admit other strategies

By Eartha Jane Melzer | 09.11.08 | 3:41 pm

The Macomb County Republican Party chair who told Michigan Messenger earlier this week that Republicans planned to challenge voters at the polls using a list of foreclosed homes has changed his story.

James Carabelli now says the party has “no plans to do anything,” according to a story in the Macomb Daily.

Reports of the plan for foreclosure-based challenges have spurred outrage and the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) planned a demonstration today at the Macomb County Republican headquarters.

Eric Doster is former counsel for the Michigan Republican Party and a lawyer who plans to represent GOP election challengers on Election Day.

Doster returned a call Wednesday afternoon and in a 30-minute conversation told Michigan Messenger that while he is unfamiliar with plans to use foreclosure lists to challenge voters, he does expect party volunteers to challenge voters in other ways.

When asked whether Michigan Republicans plan to create a challenge list based on returned direct mail, a practice known as “vote caging,” Doster replied, “I think so. I know this has been done in years past … both parties may be doing this.”

Doster said that the party’s deputy political director, Kelly Harrigan, would have more information about the challenge lists. Harrigan did not respond to a call from Michigan Messenger.

“Voter caging” is controversial because it can be used to target certain groups of voters. Some say that a piece of returned mail should not be enough to challenge a person’s claim of residency.

Last week Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner acknowledged that the use of mail for vote caging has disproportionately affected poor and minority communities and she instructed that returned mail should not be considered reasonable evidence that someone has moved.

Comments

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  • CF42865

    That's fine and dandy Mr. Carabelli. However, once you have thrown down the gauntlet it is not quite that easy to pick up.

    The general public may not know or understand the invidious nature of the RNC and their actions in the past two elections, but there are those of the general public who DO pay attention. Is there any reason to believe that these activities will cease just because there is a new set of candidates making false claims to “Change”, what ever the H**L that means????

    I for one will be on hand as an election observer to make sure that these shinanigans do not impede the rights of voters to exercise their franchise.

    The idea that people within the RNC, or anywhere else, feel it within their purview to disenfranchise certain voters is completely repugnant. If there was not some reason to stay in power, while lining their pockets so thoroughly, there would be no reason to fix the elections. But alas is this any stretch of the imagination considering the actions of the top of the RNC apparatus over the last 7 years??? You people may as well be wearing white sheets and pointy dunce caps. I thought we were beyond all this crap.

    VIGILANCE !!!!!!!

    Not End of Rant! I'm quite sure it will continue.

    Thanks

  • ken123

    Cowards are afraid of fair fights.

    I'm glad this got published and shamed them into realizing how stupid of an idea it is. I know many ordinary Republican citizens are as appalled by the rest of us. It's Republicans like Carabelli that make that “R” a scarlet letter of shame for the rest of the party.

    Why are these Republicans so afraid of democracy? I thought that's what we're fighting for and all that. But these people are too chicken to allow a fair vote because they actually worry that McCain doesn't have enough substance to win the election otherwise. So defend democracy until it looks like your candidate might lose. Then find every dirty underhanded trick possible to keep those who disagree with you from voting. I'm sure glad we've such a shining example of democracy for the world.

    Stop being cowards and let's just have a fair vote. Ok?

  • Pingback: GOP seeks to contest voters from foreclosed homes - TDR Roundtable

  • TheAudacity

    Let me tell you the other side of this that you will not hear in the mainstream liberal media. The reason they are verifying voter registration is because the Obama campaign along with ACORN (Association of Community Organizations Reform Now) for which Obama previously worked as a community organizer are being investigated & charged with voter fraud. Milwaukee's top election officials are seeking criminal charges against ACORN for offering gifts to sign up voters, falsify driver's licenses numbers, Social Security numbers, and other information on voter registration cards. ACORN has child rapists, drug offenders, and forgery convicts on their payroll who are being PAID to vote for Obama by registering the felons (who are ineligible to vote) using DEAD PEOPLES NAMES AND VACANT FORECLOSED HOMES for legal addresses. The Obama campaign has admitted they failed to report $800,000 in campaign payments TO ACORN disguised as payments to a front group called “Citizens Services Inc.” for “advanced work”. Now with a wave of his magic wand Obama amended his Federal Election Commission forms to change the “advanced work” to “get-out-the-vote” work.

    Who is guilty of voter fraud and trying to “fix” this election in their favor? And say again why the GOP should not be allowed to verify that EVERY voter is legally registered to vote, are able to provide identification, and are not felons and non-US citizens illegally registered using a deceased person's identity & vacant foreclosed homes as their address???

    Wake up people….you are being FOOLED & USED by Obama, his media, & the Democratic Party and they fuel you by making you believe it is about “racial discrimination”!!!! Please take a little time to learn the facts & find the truth. And that would entail finding your news from a credible source. You are about to put yourself, your children, your friends, neighbors, & the entire United States in grave danger if you don't!

    • Rayne1

      Effectively applied, there is no reason why Michigan's current laws on voter registration will not work to assure that residents of the state are voting. There were few and rare instances of voter fraud in this state prior to the voter ID law; if anything, the current law discourages economically disadvantaged from voting due to the difficulty of the registration process (i.e., fewer secretary of state offices, increased transportation costs to get to those offices, cost of obtaining and maintaining other supporting ID documents, so on).

      The fundamental problem with the use of foreclosure lists is that it links property ownership to voter rights. Contesting a voter's residency is one thing — do so with the current voter ID law — but contesting voters based on status of property ownership is simply not acceptable.

  • TheAudacity

    Let me tell you the other side of this that you will not hear in the mainstream liberal media. The reason they are verifying voter registration is because the Obama campaign along with ACORN (Association of Community Organizations Reform Now) for which Obama previously worked as a community organizer are being investigated & charged with voter fraud. Milwaukee's top election officials are seeking criminal charges against ACORN for offering gifts to sign up voters, falsify driver's licenses numbers, Social Security numbers, and other information on voter registration cards. ACORN has child rapists, drug offenders, and forgery convicts on their payroll who are being PAID to vote for Obama by registering the felons (who are ineligible to vote) using DEAD PEOPLES NAMES AND VACANT FORECLOSED HOMES for legal addresses. The Obama campaign has admitted they failed to report $800,000 in campaign payments TO ACORN disguised as payments to a front group called “Citizens Services Inc.” for “advanced work”. Now with a wave of his magic wand Obama amended his Federal Election Commission forms to change the “advanced work” to “get-out-the-vote” work.

    Who is guilty of voter fraud and trying to “fix” this election in their favor? And say again why the GOP should not be allowed to verify that EVERY voter is legally registered to vote, are able to provide identification, and are not felons and non-US citizens illegally registered using a deceased person's identity & vacant foreclosed homes as their address???

    Wake up people….you are being FOOLED & USED by Obama, his media, & the Democratic Party and they fuel you by making you believe it is about “racial discrimination”!!!! Please take a little time to learn the facts & find the truth. And that would entail finding your news from a credible source. You are about to put yourself, your children, your friends, neighbors, & the entire United States in grave danger if you don't!

    • TheAudacity

      Notice that ACORN, who are being charged with voter fraud and registering felons with deceased peoples names using vacant foreclosed homes as legal addresses, are the ones who are “outraged” by the thought of voters being verified. Are they outraged or they don't want to get caught & sent to prison?
      Unfortunately, we have to question EVERY single thing we read anymore!

  • sschreiner

    Whether or not he said it, and whether or not he intends to do it are two different things. We see this kind of thing every election year, and if it's not Mr. Carabelli it will be someone else doing some other outrageous thing. Tell the Secretary of State of Michigan to intervene and not allow these kinds of voter suppression tactics to stand:
    http://www.progressivefuture.org/michigan?id4=MM

  • dakkad

    David Trott owns American Processing Company http://www.apcdefault.com

    One must wonder if he is providing the “lists” that Carabelli refers to.

    YA THINK !!!!

  • jayemdee

    Please spell check. Mind, I wouldn't use literacy as a “caging” maneuver, but truly, it detracts from one's credibility when an individual writes ineptly. This nonpartisan message is brought to you courtesy of Americans for Literate and Logical Communication.

    Thank you.

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  • gsp_fan

    TO JAYEMDEE:

    Its funny you criticize Ms. Melzer for her spelling when there isn't a single error in her article. Meanwhile, you exhibit poor grammar: “Mind, I wouldn't use literacy as a “caging” maneuver, but truly, it detracts from one's credibility when an individual writes ineptly.” Mind…mind what? Mind is a verb, you know. It can't stand alone.

  • Factman

    Its funny that most people in this country have not realized or accept the fact that cheating have become a fundemintal part of the American political process. The speeches, ads, the spinning and the overall process is scandalious. It seems that everyone is trying to find or create an advantage over his/her opponent and sometimes by whatever means necessary.

  • Factman

    Its funny that most people in this country have not realized or accept the fact that cheating have become a fundemintal part of the American political process. The speeches, ads, the spinning and the overall process is scandalious. It seems that everyone is trying to find or create an advantage over his/her opponent and sometimes by whatever means necessary.

  • Factman

    Its funny that most people in this country have not realized or accept the fact that cheating have become a fundemintal part of the American political process. The speeches, ads, the spinning and the overall process is scandalious. It seems that everyone is trying to find or create an advantage over his/her opponent and sometimes by whatever means necessary.

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