Should the NBA assist white players with affirmative action?
This is an interesting twist on the merits, or rather lack of merits, relative to affirmative action.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Monday, November 2, 2009
If You Don't Know the Charter, Vote NO
"The proposed Macomb County charter, as written, has many of what I call “dead zones” that justify voting no on November, 3, 2009. So many people have not read this charter that the anthem should be, “If you don’t know, vote no.” If it fails this time, the charter commission can (within 180 days) submit it to the voters again with all the dead zones removed. Let’s do right by getting it right.
What’s a charter dead zone? Giving powers to the Governor to remove the county executive; the only problem with that is that the Governor, by law, has no power to remove a county executive. Yet, it’s in a charter written by many seasoned lawyers; go figure.
The size of commission districts will double. A 100 percent increase in district size will make access to a commissioner problematic. Right now, each commissioner represents about 33,000 citizens. With the increase in population since 2000, that will change to approximately 70,000 plus. Ed Bruley, who worked hard to create the 26th commission seat in 2001, stated in an April 19, 2001 Macomb Daily article that, and I quote, “County commissioners are supposed to be close to the people they represent….If you have big districts, you get away from that.” Made sense then, and it makes sense now.
A huge dead zone is that the proposed charter does not clearly state that the 13 commissioners “shall be part-time,” There is no law preventing charter commissioners from attaching those four words. The county commissioners can later claim their districts are so large that they need to be fulltime AND need a staff. They should re-write that part.
Another dead zone is that there is no term limit attached to the county executive position. Three terms might be more than some can stomach, but to not put a limit on it means a politician could possibly hold that position forever (Ed McNamara comes to mind).
The charter creates a Public Defender’s Office. The PDO is in the charter without budget details. Where is the money coming from for the administrators of the PDO when the county is laying off workers, slashing services, and cutting county department budgets? If you don’t know, vote no.
The biggest dead zone is the power to adjust the property tax millage up from 4.56 to 5.19. There’s some slippery language in Sec.8.5.2 that everyone should read. Property owners beware: If you don’t know, vote no.
The charter also allows the commissioners to adjust the county executive’s salary 60 days after the charter goes into effect. Wait for it. There goes those so-called savings right out the window.
Again, voters can demand more clarity by voting no. A no vote does not doom the charter: it sends it back for more fine tuning. There are serious flaws in this charter that scream for attention. It can be re-submitted when it is fixed.
The only way to go, if you don’t know, is to vote no on November 3, 2009." "
What’s a charter dead zone? Giving powers to the Governor to remove the county executive; the only problem with that is that the Governor, by law, has no power to remove a county executive. Yet, it’s in a charter written by many seasoned lawyers; go figure.
The size of commission districts will double. A 100 percent increase in district size will make access to a commissioner problematic. Right now, each commissioner represents about 33,000 citizens. With the increase in population since 2000, that will change to approximately 70,000 plus. Ed Bruley, who worked hard to create the 26th commission seat in 2001, stated in an April 19, 2001 Macomb Daily article that, and I quote, “County commissioners are supposed to be close to the people they represent….If you have big districts, you get away from that.” Made sense then, and it makes sense now.
A huge dead zone is that the proposed charter does not clearly state that the 13 commissioners “shall be part-time,” There is no law preventing charter commissioners from attaching those four words. The county commissioners can later claim their districts are so large that they need to be fulltime AND need a staff. They should re-write that part.
Another dead zone is that there is no term limit attached to the county executive position. Three terms might be more than some can stomach, but to not put a limit on it means a politician could possibly hold that position forever (Ed McNamara comes to mind).
The charter creates a Public Defender’s Office. The PDO is in the charter without budget details. Where is the money coming from for the administrators of the PDO when the county is laying off workers, slashing services, and cutting county department budgets? If you don’t know, vote no.
The biggest dead zone is the power to adjust the property tax millage up from 4.56 to 5.19. There’s some slippery language in Sec.8.5.2 that everyone should read. Property owners beware: If you don’t know, vote no.
The charter also allows the commissioners to adjust the county executive’s salary 60 days after the charter goes into effect. Wait for it. There goes those so-called savings right out the window.
Again, voters can demand more clarity by voting no. A no vote does not doom the charter: it sends it back for more fine tuning. There are serious flaws in this charter that scream for attention. It can be re-submitted when it is fixed.
The only way to go, if you don’t know, is to vote no on November 3, 2009." "
Thursday, September 24, 2009
A Painful Truth Others Want Forgotten
A War For Your Soul-Birmingham version on Vimeo
Please click on this link....it is pretty graphic, but watch it all the way through.
Please click on this link....it is pretty graphic, but watch it all the way through.
Monday, August 31, 2009
As Biggest Banks Repay Bailout Money, the U.S. Sees a Profit - NYTimes.com
It appears that we are peeking at a silver lining. Taxpayer money is being paid back, with interest.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Lynching victim Till’s casket to go to Smithsonian | Detroit Free Press
Lest We Forget
Selective amnesia is not an option.
We must remember the Holocaust, 911, slavery, and yes, this. We do so so as to never allow its repetition.
God Bless America
Selective amnesia is not an option.
We must remember the Holocaust, 911, slavery, and yes, this. We do so so as to never allow its repetition.
God Bless America
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Rep. Jenkins: GOP looking for 'great white hope'
Isn"t it funng that no matter how much things change, they actually remain the same?
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Eastpointe's Parental Responsibility Law Should Be Emulated
Eastpointe parental ordinance must not lead to lawsuits, racial profiling
By Gregory A. Murray
The city of Eastpointe should be applauded for its efforts to reign in inappropriate and anti-social juvenile behavior through its recently adopted parental responsibility ordinance, and I encourage other municipalities such as Mount Clemens, Chesterfield Township, Clinton Township and others to do likewise.
While it will be important to ensure the ordinance is not selectively enforced or adjudicated, the focus on parental
A engagement with youth around issues of destructive behavior is spot on. The ordinance cannot force a parent to parent differently, but it does provide a great incentive for parents to sit down with and establish a set of expectations for their children that include a discussion of specific consequences associated with engaging in unruly or illegal behavior.
Some elements of the ordinance have been in place for quite some time now, such as the city’s curfew. Another aspect of the ordinance involves recognition of a parent’s responsibility to ensure supervision of their children in the parent’s absence. And the presence of drugs, illegal weapons or stolen property in the home has always been a recipe for trouble. The ordinance further provides that violating any and all of the above could warrant a judge ordering a parent to mandatory parenting classes and a hefty $500 fine.
The Eastpointe Police Department, through their on-the-street enforcement of the ordinance will make or break this opportunity to dramatically curtail juvenile rowdiness and lawlessness. All eyes will be on the police department to see if it can be trusted to implement this new tool in a manner which does not lead to lawsuits, claims of racial profiling, or political backlashes to the elected official who unanimously voted to take a courageous stand against what appears to be escalating criminal behavior.
Ideally, the courts should take a nononsense attitude regarding repeat offenders of this ordinance, but that is easy to say, given the current budgetary strain on municipal law enforcement agencies, attendant issues such as lack of jail space and a drop in family income. Yet, if ordinance offenders get the idea that the ordinance is toothless, it’s hard to imagine it having the desired and potential effect of reducing crime.
It is my hope that churches and nonprofit community groups will work with the city of Eastpointe and its police department through a coordinated community education campaign to properly engage and educate residents so that there is a clear and common understanding of what this ordinance means for parents, children and the community at large.
My firm belief is that this ordinance was aimed at destructive and criminal activity, not an ethnic group. Everyone should support uniformly enforced laws which positively impact the quality of life in our various communities. Parents have a special responsibility and opportunity to dramatically affect the social well-being of their children as well as their community. Such a partnership is a win-win for everyone.
It is not everyone else’s job to raise our children. Teachers are supposed to teach, not parent, our children. Society begins at home, and the first true lessons are learned there, or at least they should be. These days, everyone is stressed, dayto-day life is a lot more complicated, and there is never enough time in a day; but those are just facts of life, not excuses to pawn our children off on whomever we can. The police and the courts respond to crime. This ordinance confirms that parents can prevent crime. These children did not ask to be here. From inception to birth to death, we must put aside our own interests for that of our children. We should not be asking government to raise them for us. It is our job to decrease the need for government to punish them.
Gregory Murray is a community activist living in Clinton Township.
Published on the editorial page of the Macomb Daily on Tuesday, August 25, 2009.
The sub-headline is not mine and does not accurately reflect the content or substance of the column---Greg Murray
By Gregory A. Murray
The city of Eastpointe should be applauded for its efforts to reign in inappropriate and anti-social juvenile behavior through its recently adopted parental responsibility ordinance, and I encourage other municipalities such as Mount Clemens, Chesterfield Township, Clinton Township and others to do likewise.
While it will be important to ensure the ordinance is not selectively enforced or adjudicated, the focus on parental
A engagement with youth around issues of destructive behavior is spot on. The ordinance cannot force a parent to parent differently, but it does provide a great incentive for parents to sit down with and establish a set of expectations for their children that include a discussion of specific consequences associated with engaging in unruly or illegal behavior.
Some elements of the ordinance have been in place for quite some time now, such as the city’s curfew. Another aspect of the ordinance involves recognition of a parent’s responsibility to ensure supervision of their children in the parent’s absence. And the presence of drugs, illegal weapons or stolen property in the home has always been a recipe for trouble. The ordinance further provides that violating any and all of the above could warrant a judge ordering a parent to mandatory parenting classes and a hefty $500 fine.
The Eastpointe Police Department, through their on-the-street enforcement of the ordinance will make or break this opportunity to dramatically curtail juvenile rowdiness and lawlessness. All eyes will be on the police department to see if it can be trusted to implement this new tool in a manner which does not lead to lawsuits, claims of racial profiling, or political backlashes to the elected official who unanimously voted to take a courageous stand against what appears to be escalating criminal behavior.
Ideally, the courts should take a nononsense attitude regarding repeat offenders of this ordinance, but that is easy to say, given the current budgetary strain on municipal law enforcement agencies, attendant issues such as lack of jail space and a drop in family income. Yet, if ordinance offenders get the idea that the ordinance is toothless, it’s hard to imagine it having the desired and potential effect of reducing crime.
It is my hope that churches and nonprofit community groups will work with the city of Eastpointe and its police department through a coordinated community education campaign to properly engage and educate residents so that there is a clear and common understanding of what this ordinance means for parents, children and the community at large.
My firm belief is that this ordinance was aimed at destructive and criminal activity, not an ethnic group. Everyone should support uniformly enforced laws which positively impact the quality of life in our various communities. Parents have a special responsibility and opportunity to dramatically affect the social well-being of their children as well as their community. Such a partnership is a win-win for everyone.
It is not everyone else’s job to raise our children. Teachers are supposed to teach, not parent, our children. Society begins at home, and the first true lessons are learned there, or at least they should be. These days, everyone is stressed, dayto-day life is a lot more complicated, and there is never enough time in a day; but those are just facts of life, not excuses to pawn our children off on whomever we can. The police and the courts respond to crime. This ordinance confirms that parents can prevent crime. These children did not ask to be here. From inception to birth to death, we must put aside our own interests for that of our children. We should not be asking government to raise them for us. It is our job to decrease the need for government to punish them.
Gregory Murray is a community activist living in Clinton Township.
Published on the editorial page of the Macomb Daily on Tuesday, August 25, 2009.
The sub-headline is not mine and does not accurately reflect the content or substance of the column---Greg Murray
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