Good morning and welcome to Monday. It's a busy week here in the Mitten with the countdown ticking to November 4th at a breakneck pace. Make sure you wish our Assistant Editor Rich a very happy birthday tomorrow. (He likes bobbleheads and ice cream cake if you're wondering...)
The Race for the Presidency
Media Mouse: Local Coverage of the Vice Presidential Debate. Media Mouse takes a look at how the local TV stations covered last week's debate between Sen. Biden and Caribou Barbie.
TC Record Eagle: McCain's Fade Could Help Dems. Poor Sarah. Poor Chuck. Poor Saul. The "maverick" is taking his toys and going to find a sandbox more suited to his demographics. I hear that there are several retirement complexes in Arizona he can buy.
MI Messenger: McCain's Retreat: It's Packing Up Time in Michigan. The GOP "Victory Center" is looking less than victorious amidst the cardboard boxes packed with McCain's dentures and Palin's dusty pageant sashes.
National Political News
WMR: Push for the Landslide. An internal poll at the Alexander campaign says that he's up 51 - 31 with 18 undecided. There are a lot of "ifs" in the polling, but I'm sure that Bob's efforts are shored up Mike Roger's apparent abandonment of his District this campaign season.
Windmillin': How Convenient. The DOJ has appointed a special prosecutor to sort out the Bush Administration's political appointment skulduggery in the West Michigan case. How many more days until these crooks are out of office?
State Political News
Public News Service: Stem Cell Ballot Question Fuels Debate. The ads have hit the airwaves against stem cells but instead of attacking it on moral grounds, we're supposed to believe that ultimately it's going to either cost the state huge amounts of money or we're going to end up with clones.
SuperSpade: Voting Rights Essentials: Michigan Edition. Nice recap of the ACLU's guide to Michigan Voting Rights. Timely in light of the recent revelations about the Michigan Republican Party's attempt to disenfranchise voters statewide.
Environment & Economics
Consumerist: What Does the Bailout Mean for You? It's not all pork barrel spending for special interests (those wooden arrow manufacturers aside). There is an upside to the bailout for regular Americans. I'm just trying to figure out how I feel about it all.
MITF: Michigan Development News. Help is here for homeowners struggling to keep their homes. Contrary to some people's opinions, foreclosure happens for reasons like death, serious illness, divorce or job loss. Check out the Trust Fund's good news.
Muskegon Chronicle: West Michigan's Geology Could Help Fight Against Carbon Monoxide Emissions. Why bother writing an article when the title tells you everything you need to know about the subject?
Things That Amuse Me
Mrs. O: Motor City Miss. An entire blog devoted to the style, fashion and je ne said quoi of the (hopefully) future First Lady.
Calendar Check
10/06/08: Last Day to Register to Vote! (statewide)
10/06/08: Historic Book-Cadillac Hotel Reopens Today (Detroit)
10/07/08: Rich Hellinga's Birthday
10/08/08: Matthew Shepard Memorial Service (Lansing)
10/08/08: Mary Valentine vs. Holly Hughes Debate (Muskegon)
10/10/08: Garnet Lewis Fundraiser & Pig Roast on the Bayou (Freeland)
10/11/08: National Coming OutDay (nationwide)
Go forth. Do good. Talk amongst yourselves in the comments.
Vote For Change. Remember that tomorrow is your LAST CHANCE to register to vote!
Mark Maynard: Know your voting rights, Michigan. And make sure your friends know their rights!
Grand Rapids Press: Editorial: No reason to limit absentee voting. "If 28 other states can conduct no-reason absentee voting without excessive fraud, so can Michigan." For once I agree with the Press.
AP: Board of Ed candidates discuss graduation rates. This race, as well as the races for U-M, MSU, and WSU governing boards, take up much of the front of my absentee ballot. Incidentally, does anyone know why we elect those three schools' boards?
Daily Kos: Sunday Talk - The Stench of Depsperation.
This being October, there are just a couple months left to submit your picks for Lake Superior State University's Banished Words List, due out at the New Year! What are your picks? ('Bailout' and 'Maverick' are two of mine).
(We have slipped the surly bonds of Earth and touched the face of the surreal ... God, I hope for the sake of human dignity that this isn't a campaign gimmick - promoted by Eric B.)
Now I am convinced more and ever, that the "suspension" of John McCain's "suspension" in Michigan is another one of their head fakes designed to grab attention and boost Republican morale. As Marc Ambinder reports, Michigan Republican Chuck Yob is "urging" Sarah Palin to change his mind.
Well, it's (currently) sunny, but the temperature is headed slowly down ... and by slowly, I mean over the next four months, after which it will again slowly rise, as if a great Kraken, rising from the deep to gorge itself on mariners from a foundering ship. Meanwhile, stuff...
The Canadian Press: George W. Bush signs agreement to protect Great Lakes water. After two decades of stalling, the multi-state agreement dismissed earlier this year by Mike Bishop as not terribly important finally gets ink from the pen of the worst president in United States history, which is enough to give me the willies. My deepest fear is that we wake up tomorrow to dried-up lake beds, only to find that the Wall Street bailout included not only $700 billion in taxpayer money, but also 20 percent of the world's fresh surface water.
Detroit News: Ban on deer bait may impact archery season. The obvious question here is whether to take a short-term hit on the sales of bait, and losses from one hunting season; or potentially let loose a serious, easily transmissible disease that could wreak mid- to long-term damage on hunting-related tourism.
LegalNewsline: Cuomo, nine other states suing EPA. Perhaps you laughed at the top of this post when I mentioned that Crawford's village idiot's signing of the Great Lakes Compact gave me the willies, and made me suspect he was up to something stupid. Here, I offer why ... a loophole created by his EPA that could potentially allow freighters to dump salt-water and non-native pest-laden water into the Great Lakes. I've said it before, I'll say it again, everything the man touches turns to ash.
Gristmill: The scariest thing John McCain has ever said. The Maverick straight talked his way into this election in part because of his reputation of giving a rip about the environment. Now we find out that he claims that he frequently turns to the bumpkin from the North Slope for advice on energy. Thankfully, since he apparently didn't bother telling her that he was abandoning Michigan, I suspect he's lying. (Finally, and this is just a personal gripe here ... no, I did not find the folksy colloquialisms she was tossing about Thursday night cute. I found them, since she was using them to mask her very real ignorance of important issues, to be endlessly grating.)
Well, we now have substantive evidence that the North Slope bumpkin reads the newspaper. That's how she found out that John McCain was fleeing in terror from Michigan.
"Well, that's not a surprise because, you know, the polls are showing we're not doing as well there evidently as we would like to," Palin said. "But I read that this morning also. I fired off a quick email and said `Oh, come on, you know, do we have to? Do we have to call it there?'"
Couple this with her answer last night that her vice presidency would carve out its own super-executive role makes me think that a Sarah Palin vice presidency would be a lot like Dick Cheney's, 'cept minus the power, the pull, and the access to the inner workings of the administration.
Meanwhile, the thought on everyone's mind today, after yesterday's announcement that the Maverick was surrendering Michigan ... how (bleep)ed are Tim Walberg and Joe Knollenberg? Much (bleep)ed, says Jack Lessenberry, and they aren't the only two.
Closer to home, this will have a devastating effect on Republican morale. Democrats will now have a far greater chance of knocking off the two vulnerable GOP Congressmen, Joe Knollenberg in Oakland County and Tim Walberg in south central Michigan.
It probably means the GOP now has no chance to win the state house of representatives, and will see most or all of their nominees for boards of education swept away. The only likely survivor: Mitt Romney’s brother Scott, who sits on the MSU board.
I've seen probably half a dozen e-mails cross my various Inboxes alerting recipients of the fact that earlier this year, Tim Walberg said that John McCain -- close friends with Joe Schwarz, the guy Walberg rat(bleep)ed and beat in 2006 -- was going to offer him tremendous assistance this year. Let's see ... what was that quote? Oh, yes.
We'll help him and he'll help us, there's no doubt about it. I think his message will truly resonate with people who want to have reform in Washington. He's not afraid to take anyone on.
Well, McCain has departed Michigan and his good buddy Schwarz broke for the guy who didn't slander him in 2006, which suggests to me that this hasn't exactly been Tim Walberg's best week ... politically speaking, of course.
There's been some idle speculation that soon-to-be ex-appellate judge Bill Schuette would run for state attorney general. Is the fact that he is acting as talking head for the anti-medical marijuana coalition a soft confirmation of that? Read, and judge for yourself:
Opponents of the measure "are keenly sensitive to the challenges and problems that people have who are undergoing severe pain problems," Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Bill Schuette said Thursday. "But this proposal, Proposal 1, is so deeply flawed and carelessly and loosely written that as a judge I would say the problem here is the law of unintended consequences that provides deep pitfalls for Michigan voters in November."
Despite its intentions, Schuette said, the bill would make it easier for children and teens to obtain marijuana for recreational use. It also raises a number of legal questions about where and how patients could smoke marijuana.
I mean, he's been a judge what ... a whole whopping six years? Anyway, standing up to keep medical marijuana out of the hands of little schoolchildren is a nice way to play the "compassionately tough on crime" card to voters.
One of the things that's making the rounds this morning ought to come with an afternoon hangover of shame for conservatives (I haven't seen it in any Michigan outlet, but the day is still young). Last night, Joe Biden said that during the 90s, he helped bring Serbs, Croatians, and Bozniaks to the bargaining table. Conservatives this morning are tittering over it, assuming Biden flubbed the word Bosnian.
Go right ahead and laugh, but not with them. Laugh at them. They're idiots. Bosniak is what you call a Muslim who lives in the geographic region of Bosnia. Those were the people who were being slaughtered on the streets of Sarajevo by Serbian snipers and mortar crews. If they weren't so proud of being uninformed, they might have even Googled the term.
On the other hand, the last we heard of Gen. McClellan, he was governor of New Jersey, an office he won after losing the election for the presidency to Abe Lincoln in 1864 (which he ran for after being fired by Abe for getting his hinderend handed to him on a plate by Robert E. Lee in 1863).
As you all probably know by now, our fabulous and fearless Governor Granholm played the role of Sarah Palin in helping VP candidate Joe Biden prep for last night's debate.
Walt Sorg, talk host of AM Lansing had a great interview with her this morning about the prep process and her reaction to last night's war of words. Hear the interview here.
As to Palin's strategy, well this guy nailed it right on the head with his flow chart, because it seems exactly the strategery (yes, you read that right) that she used.
And then there's this, because I'm pretty sure this was also part of the grand scheme. *sigh*
Sarah Palin, singlehandedly setting women in politics back 100 years for 5 weeks now.
T-G-I-Freakin-Friday to you!! If you're happy and you know it - do it a little dance, or swivel around in your office chair, or have a dance party in your car later, up to you! Either way, kick off your morning the right way with a bit of MichLib goodness.
Obama-rama all over the state
DetNews: Grand Rapids, East Lansing turn out for Obama - There was a lot Democratic love going around all over today with Barack's two appearances.
MI Messenger: Michelle Obama: Don't we deserve leaders who 'get it'? - Mrs. Obama was in Saginaw Twp and Clinton Twp today to shore up supporter and voters.
Freep: Obama: Fundamental change needed to help Michigan, nation - The Freep's Editorial Board got a chance to sit down with Obama today, and you get treated to an exclusive transcript of the session.
Freep: WWJ reporter fired for wearing Obama t-shirt - A 13 year veteran reporter is let go after wearing a political t-shirt to a rally. Fair or not?
AP: State GOP surprised by McCain pullout - Well it's not like they're always at the top of the game and that thy C-O-M-M-U-N-I-C-A-T-E or anything.
And the rest of the story...
GLAAD Blog: Share Your Story: Triangle Foundation's Colette Beighley - A candid interview with a fabulous advocate and ally for Michigan's LGBT community. Did I mention she's got the best-named blog in the entire state?
LSJ: Work wrapping up on 'Extreme Makeover' house - In case you hadn't heard, a very lucky family from Holt is getting a new house after suffering a very personal tragedy. Check out the latest.
AP: Coalition forms to oppose medical marijuna ballot proposal -Uhh guys, either you were smoking some yourself, or you're just a little late to the party. With 30-some days left, you've got polling in the 70% in favor of it.
AP: Wind turbines could up state energy 10-fold - So peninsula's are surrounded by water, and wind comes off water, making Michigan a real mecca for wind. This no-brainer equals great things for Michigan!
Add your story/snark/commentary below and have a great weekend!! Friday's regular CT guru will be back next week.
(I can see Russia from my house! - promoted by matt)
So... anything good on TV tonight?
As if you all aren't gathering in front of your televisions right now to watch what could be one of the greatest political train wrecks in history. Or it could just stink. You can play along at home tonight with bingo games here and here. Leave your favorite quotes in the comments.
And here, in case you haven't seen it yet, is a perfectly swell little slideshow from Governor Granholm's debate prep sessions with Joe Biden (h/t dKos).
Okay...here's my story...
So there we are at Barack's rally in East Lansing: Charlie and Rachel (my twins - Bear and Bird, respectively) and my godmother Carol (Joanie had an appointment). A Great rally; great speech; great crowd. Weather was lousy with a cool, brisk wind and occasional sprinkles of rain. Didn't matter though - between 10 and 20 thousand people braved the elements to fill what is a rather small, but picturesque field in the old part of the MSU campus.
When the speech ended, I picked up Charlie and Carol carried Rachel toward the rope line with hopes of shaking the hand of the pres-to-be. Somewhere in here Carol and I got separated.
Anyway, the Bear and I got within reaching distance and my arms ached as I held him up high, waiting for Barack to make his way around the circuit. Charlie was, of course, being his regular 14-month old charmer self, flirting with the ladies and giggling and grabbing at everything in sight - including an Obama sticker worn by a guy next to us. In an act of goodwill, the man took his sticker and put it on the Bear's shirt. The Bear was very happy about this.
What do T-shirts, yard signs, buttons, and bumper stickers have in common? All are excellent ways of showing the world that you support Barack Obama and other great progressives on the ballot!
Stop by your local party or Campaign for Change office and they should have plenty of campaign materials, with a small donation often encouraged. Many candidates offer loads of campaign merchandise on their website, including Barack Obama. If your favorite candidates don'tsel these items on the website, just call or email that campaign and find out how you can get them!
The best part is, these items are usually union-made right here in America!
UPDATE: So what if McCain is pulling out of Michigan? You can still get plenty of Obama gear to ensure that Obama's win in Michigan is closer to 12 points than 2!
John McCain is pulling out of Michigan, according to two Republicans, a stunning move a month away from Election Day that indicates the difficulty Republicans are having in finding blue states to put in play.
McCain will go off TV in Michigan, stop dropping mail there and send most of his staff to more competitive states, including Wisconsin, Ohio and Florida. Wisconsin went for Kerry in 2004, Ohio and Florida for Bush.
