Turtle fence redux

Only $320,000 spent to keep turtles from.... turtle love?

MDOT plans to repair car-damaged turtle fence

"'Most people I talked to were just kind of shaking their heads,' Hoekstra said. 'It's too bad that the state, which is suffering tough economic times, would throw money at a project like this.'"

K12 Reformer - Mike Reno: Perhaps “Rubber Stamping” should be a crime too!

K12 Reformer - Mike Reno: Perhaps “Rubber Stamping” should be a crime too!: "According to the article, he did this at least 40 times, based on the 40 phony invoices found in his house. That would average $57,500 per invoice, which is a spending level that would – or should – include some approval/oversight at the school board level.

I’d bet that there were 40 instances were there was a unanimous round of seven AYE votes approving those fraudulent purchases, or the invoices. There’s a good chance that not one single question was asked before each of the 40 approvals."

Core Principles: A little factoid for you all

Core Principles: A little factoid for you all: "On a statewide average, Michigan residents see $24 in revenue sharing dollars returned to them. In Detroit, on the other hand, the average resident receives $241 per resident."

Obama Focus Group

YouTube - Obama Focus Group

Hope.

Change.

Obama-nation!

On board the world's first 'gigayacht'

The boat sure has a lot of green on it!

On board the world's first 'gigayacht': The £100m luxury yacht with its own garden, pool and tennis court

"Life can have its little irritations when you're cruising around the world on your £100million superyacht."

Divisive Dem Contest Could Boost McCain

20% of disgruntled libs will bolt for McCrook?

Divisive Dem Contest Could Boost McCain
"Among Obama supporters, 20 percent said they would vote for Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the Republican nominee, if Clinton beats their candidate for the nomination. Among Clinton supporters, 19 percent said they would support McCain in November if Obama is the Democratic nominee. (See poll)"

Pregnant Mother, Tortured, Dies in Ill.

Faces of evil.

I actually cried when I read this horrific and sad story.

Pregnant Mother, Tortured, Dies in Ill.: "Banished to the basement, the 29-year-old mother with a childlike mind and another baby on the way had little more than a thin rug and a mattress to call her own on the chilly concrete floor.
Dorothy Dixon ate what she could forage from the refrigerator upstairs, where housemates used her for target practice with BBs, burned her with a glue gun and doused her with scalding liquid that peeled away her skin."

Lifetime Energy Cost Per Mile: Prius v. Hummer H3

CARPE DIEM: Lifetime Energy Cost Per Mile: Prius v. Hummer H3: "2005 Hybrid Vehicle energy efficiency over their lifetimes:
1. Honda Insight: $2.94 per mile
2. Ford Escape Hybrid: $3.18 per mile
3. Honda Civic Hybrid: $3.24 per mile
4. Toyota Prius: $3.25 per mile
5. Honda Accord Hybrid: $3.30 per mile"

2005 Hummer H3: $1.949 per mile

GR protesters speak out on unemployment

GR protesters speak out on unemployment:

"Most of the protestors came from Hart Enterprises in Sparta, where they make surgical instruments.
Their company wants to expand but the department of environmental quality, DEQ, says it cannot because it sits on wetlands.
The company is threatening to move out of the state, leaving behind 115 employeee like Connie Parrish."

Bilingual program salvaged from International School - mlive.com

Does anyone think this "immersion" is anything other than a scam to "teach" Mexican kids in spanish?

My gosh, it's first graders. Shouldn't they be learning how to read in English?

Another disgusting, anti-child, anti-american move by the "educators" in Muskegon.

Another reason to move out of Muskegon NOW!

Bilingual program salvaged from International School
"One of those pieces -- a two-way Spanish-English immersion program -- is set to open in the fall at Moon Elementary School as a more limited program than first envisioned.
The voluntary program will provide instruction primarily in Spanish for English- and Spanish-speaking students in kindergarten and first grade, with more grades added in future years."

Hillary's Balkan Adventures, Part II - Fact Checker

Hillary's Balkan Adventures, Part II - Fact Checker: "'I remember landing under sniper fire. There was supposed to be some kind of a greeting ceremony at the airport, but instead we just ran with our heads down to get into the vehicles to get to our base.'
--Hillary Clinton, speech at George Washington University, March 17, 2008."

Archives show Clinton lied: Obama campaign

Archives show Clinton lied: Obama campaign
"Obama aides said the schedules, which were released Wednesday after much back and forth between Clinton lawyers and the National Archives, undermined the New York senator's most contentious claims of foreign policy experience.
Seizing on the controversial North American Free Trade Agreement, they highlighted an ABC News report which cited participants at one White House meeting in 1993 as saying Clinton was 'fully supportive' of NAFTA.
'It does make you wonder if this was one of the reasons why there was such a reluctance to get those records out there on a timely basis,' Obama strategist David Axelrod said on a conference call."

Stingray Kills Woman on Boat in Fla.

Stingray Kills Woman on Boat in Fla.: "A 75-pound stingray killed a Michigan woman Thursday when it flew out of the water and struck her in the face as she rode in a boat in the Florida Keys, officials said.
Judy Kay Zagorski, of Pigeon, Mich., was sitting in a boat going 25 mph when the spotted eagle ray, with a wingspan of 5 to 6 feet, leaped out of the water, said Jorge Pino, spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission."

My Way - Sports News

My Way - Sports News: "Oregon was too far away. Penn State was too rural. Michigan was a close second.
Terrelle Pryor, the highly touted western Pennsylvania prep quarterback, announced Wednesday that he will play for Ohio State."

County to seek millage renewal for veterans - mlive.com

County to seek millage renewal for veterans - mlive.com: "Since it opened in August of 1990, the Muskegon County Department of Veterans Affairs has dramatically increased the variety of services it offers and the number of veterans it serves.
And the voters of Muskegon County have stuck with the department every step of the way, approving a property tax millage to help support its programs in 1994, then approving a 10-year extension of that millage in 1998.
Now it's time for the department to seek voter assistance again as it prepares for the challenge of serving a new generation of veterans coming home after serving in Iraq and Afghanistan."

Female Teachers Arrested for Fighting During School

2 Female Teachers Arrested for Fighting During School

Eighth grade teachers Tawana Horton, 30, and Cambrella Pinckney, 28, bumped into each other during a hallway class change Friday afternoon at St. Andrews Middle School and began fighting, according to a report by the Richland County sheriff's department."

FOXNews.com - Michigan Congressman Wants 50-Cent Tax Hike on Every Gallon of Gas - Politics | Republican Party | Democratic Party | Political Spectrum

FOXNews.com - Michigan Congressman Wants 50-Cent Tax Hike on Every Gallon of Gas - Politics Republican Party Democratic Party Political Spectrum: "A Michigan congressman wants to put a 50-cent tax on every gallon of gasoline to try to cut back on Americans' consumption.
Polls show that a majority of Americans support policies that would reduce greenhouse gases. But when it comes to paying for it, it's a different story.
Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., wants to help cut consumption with a gas tax but some don't agree with the idea, according to a new poll by the National Center for Public Policy Research."

Borders explores sale, suspends dividend

Borders explores sale, suspends dividend
"Book retailer Borders Group Inc (BGP.N) on Thursday suspended its quarterly dividend and said it was reviewing strategic options, including the sale of some or all of its businesses, and its shares sank more than 30 percent to a new year low."

Governor Jennifer Granholm frustrates town hall attendees

Sweden?

Governor Jennifer Granholm frustrates town hall attendees by lacking specific economic answers

"She pointed to Sweden as a possible model for Michigan, noting it has created 400,000 jobs in renewable and alternative energy. Sweden, like Michigan, has about 10 million people, enjoys a long coastline and has abundant forests."

Kelloggsville school chief makes district first to rebel against tougher Michigan graduation requirements

If you can't cheat on graduation rates, just lower the skills necessary?

This might work in academia, it sure doesn't work in the real world.

Kelloggsville school chief makes district first to rebel against tougher Michigan graduation requirements
"The state's new graduation requirements are too tough for many students, and schools should be allowed to plan separate paths -- and offer different tests"

States’ Data Obscure How Few Finish High School - New York Times

States’ Data Obscure How Few Finish High School - New York Times: "One team of statisticians working at the state education headquarters here recently calculated the official graduation rate at a respectable 87 percent, which Mississippi reported to Washington. But in another office piled with computer printouts, a second team of number crunchers came up with a different rate: a more sobering 63 percent."

Clinton Calls Obama "un-American"

B Hussein is "un-American"?

Clinton Calls on Obama to Back Primaries: "Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton bluntly challenged Barack Obama to agree to new primaries in Michigan and Florida on Wednesday and said it was 'wrong, and frankly un-American' not to have the two delegations seated at the Democratic National Convention."

Oil, security costs boost ferry ticket prices

Another Muskegon business headed for the rocks?

Oil, security costs boost ferry ticket prices -
"The cost of round-trip tickets (Muskegon to Milwaukee) for two adults in regular seating and one vehicle is currently $443 with all fares and surcharges, according to the Lake Express reservation system."

Liberal Fascism

I've bought, read it, love it!

The American Spectator: "In a certain sense, Jonah Goldberg's Liberal Fascism is long-overdue. The idea that Goldberg endeavors to debunk, namely that fascism was a right-wing phenomenon, has gone unchallenged for far too long. The Soviet propaganda that labeled any socialist not beholden to Moscow 'on the right' has endured longer than the Soviet Union itself."

BLACKFIVE: Beccy Cole - "Poster Girl" on the Wrong Side of the World

An oldie but goodie.

BLACKFIVE: Beccy Cole - "Poster Girl" on the Wrong Side of the World

Stay the course!

The Volokh Conspiracy - -: "Cheney on Public Opinion About the War in Iraq: Here's an interesting excerpt of an interview with Vice President Cheney about U.S. military involvement in Iraq:
MS. RADDITZ: Two-thirds of Americans say [the Iraq war is] not worth fighting.
VICE PRES. CHENEY: So?
MS. RADDITZ: So? You're not — you don't care what the American people think?
VICE PRES. CHENEY: No, I think you cannot be blown off course by the fluctuations in the public opinion polls."

Why Michigan State's Drew Neitzel has struggled as a senior | Freep.com | Detroit Free Press

Why Michigan State's Drew Neitzel has struggled as a senior Freep.com Detroit Free Press

First Lady Records Show Clinton Promoted NAFTA - New York Times

She was for it before she was against it?

First Lady Records Show Clinton Promoted NAFTA - New York Times: "The former first lady's records showed first lady Clinton worked on behalf of the accord."

The Mystery of Global Warming's Missing Heat : NPR

The Mystery of Global Warming's Missing Heat : NPR: "Some 3,000 scientific robots that are plying the ocean have sent home a puzzling message. These diving instruments suggest that the oceans have not warmed up at all over the past four or five years. That could mean global warming has taken a breather. Or it could mean scientists aren't quite understanding what their robots are telling them."

Climate change experts target cow flatulence

Ground zero?

Climate change experts target cow flatulence - Telegraph: "Britain's finest scientific minds have turned their attention to a problem that they claim is threatening the future of the entire planet - farm animal flatulence."