Merry Christmas

Not my house . . . Neither is this one my place: Happy Holidays everyone!

Former Mayor Farmer rejected for Ypsi Ethics Board appointment

Meredith and I attended the Historic South Side Association's Holiday Party yesterday. The buzz in the room was that earlier this week, Mayor Schreiber attempted to appoint former Mayor Farmer to the City of Ypsilanti's Board of Ethics. Of all the areas in which Ypsi could use some help, I can't believe anyone in their right mind would propose a partisan for a local ethics post. This is the same Mayor Farmer that openly opposed candidates in the primary for City Council (all of whom won). This is the same Mayor Farmer that openly (and baselessly) accused a current City Council member of wrongdoing back when he was a candidate. This is this the same Mayor Farmer that has taken sides in every local election (and vocally so) ever since she decided not to run for mayor two years ago. Mayor Schreiber's choice of appointment shows extremely poor judgment. Appointing someone to an ethics panel isn't about getting one's friends in important positions. It's about upholding the ethical precepts and guidelines to which we all look to govern the actions of our elected officials and ensure that they remain within the boundaries of applicable rules. I had hoped with the sweep in November both locally and nationally, we could begin looking to a new focus by all of our local governing officials, not just the newly elected ones. Sadly, Mayor Schreiber still hasn't caught on to what the majority of the people of Ypsilanti are looking for, despite the sweeping losses he and his allies suffered in the August primary, the November election and the income tax vote. Not surprisingly, the proposed appointment went down in flames by a 5-2 vote against. Objectivity and even-handedness are two prerequisites to serving on the Board of Ethics. Council got this one spot-on correct. There are plenty of opportunities to serve. I think former Mayor Farmer would do well to seek an open spot on a board or commission that won't be intimately involved in evaluating the conduct of persons and/or officials she has vocally criticized in the past. Because we all know what the Ypsi Ethics Board would look like if ever called up to investigate one of her self-avowed political foes: petty political payback, nothing more.

Ann Arbor City Council to *gasp* look at a city income tax

Ann Arbor City Councilman Steven Rapundalo is suggesting that Ann Arbor take a look at a city income tax. "It needs at least a look," he said, per the Ann Arbor News. Well, if Mr. Rapundalo takes a good, long hard look at how Ypsi's city income tax went over, he may realize that the back end of that look may be as a citizen rather than as a city councilman. Here in Ypsi, shortly after "taking a look" at a proposed city income tax, the anti-income tax candidates and incumbents swept in our elections last November after winning their respective primaries against pro-taxers. The only thing more stupid than a city income tax is a city income tax now that citizens across this state are wondering whether they will have jobs next year and whether their life savings and 401Ks are ever going to have any value again. For a preview of how Mr. Rapundalo's look is going to come across, don't miss the comments at the bottom of the article.

GOP aims its bitterness at unions

I totally get the GOP's hatred for unions. How dare those insignificant, middle class assembly line workers organize to better support their families and communities? Just who do those common laborers think they are, wanting to share in the profits of the corporations they work for? And what the heck was the deal with all those bitter people in Pennsylvania clinging to guns and religion voting for Obama anyway? On a more personal note, just last week, I broke the nail on my right index finger and had to file it down, making it shorter than all the rest of my fingernails. You know whose fault that was? Yep -- you guessed it -- the unions, damn them. And the nasty rain/sleet mixture we got last night? All the union's fault. Well, thank goodness, it's payback time. With last week's failure of the auto rescue bill, Senate Republicans have once again focused the country on the hypocrisy and irrationality of their unique brand of "family values." You may faintly recall when the GOPers in the Senate supported the bailout of Wall Street, we didn't hear much talk from them about limiting pay, micromanaging the work force for say, CitiBank, or even much anything of the like. Now, however, that we are looking at two of the Big Three potentially going under inside a month's time, the Senate has become a bastion of expertise and experience in not just giving money away to rich people, but also directly supervising assembly line workers. Yes, boys and girls, while giving the CEOs and senior executives of corporate America a free pass to continue rewarding their failures with huge bonuses, stock options, and trips to the spa, the Senate favors setting work rules, mandating union concessions, and requesting a date certain for acceptance of concessions. Hmmm. I don't recall anyone in the Sentate GOP trying to set a date certain for Fannie Mae, or CitiBank or AIG to mend their wayward ways. Looks suspiciously like a double-standard, doesn't it? Perhaps our Senate Republicans don't just hate unions. Perhaps they actually hate the God-fearing, middle class, hard working Americans that make up these unions. No doubt it's just a technicality that these working families may lose their homes if these union jobs aren't safeguarded in way similar to how the GOP chose to safeguard the jobs of bankers, Wall Street traders, and insurance company professionals. And no doubt it's just a technicality that the stock market lost billions more following the announcement that the auto rescue bill failed, further diminishing the market capital of the numerous corporations already bailed out and increasing volatility in key markets essential to our economic vitality. Or, on second thought, maybe the GOP hates itself. How else can one explain the hypocrisy, double standards, and schizophrenic decision making on these issues? How can one explain the utter lack of foresight as to the potential consequences of these irrational positions? In a few short years, talk of becoming a permanent majority has morphed into talk of the Republican Party becoming a permanent minority. I must admit I'm sitting on the edge of my seat wondering what is left for them to screw up next.

YSO to perform with the Plymouth/Canton High School Choirs this Saturday, December 13

This year's Ypsilanti Symphony Orchestra's Holiday Concert will be a collaboration with the Plymouth/Canton High School Choirs. There will be two concerts, both on Saturday, December 13th, 2008, at 3:00 P.M. and 7:00 P.M. Both will be held in the Salem High School Auditorium, in Canton, Michigan. The program will feature "Songs of the Season," including John Rutter’s "Magnificat." Tickets are available online and at the door, but both concerts usually sell out, so if you want to purchase tickets at the door, go very, very early.

Jackass watch: MI Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop obstructs the legislature yet again

I listened to the state Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop this morning on the radio. He's up to his divisive, obstructionist political ploys with our budget yet again. He is committed to standing in the way of any progress on even a single bill that has been passed by the House until his budget demands are met. He says that dealing with the budget is "important." But we all know that what he is really saying is that he won't negotiate on anything important to anyone else until he gets his way. Bishop always acts like a spoiled, bratty child whenever Democrats begin to make progress on anything important to the citizens of Michigan. And that's what he's doing now, with his political doublespeak. He knows that if all the bills passed in the House aren't voted on in the next few days, they will all have to be re-introduced next session, starting over and squandering the hard work that has been accomplished to date. I hope Governor Granholm and our House Democratic leadership call him out on his grandstanding and political gamesmanship. Our state is facing some of the toughest economic challenges since the Great Depression, and we need our leaders to rise to the occasion and work together. Call Mike Bishop at (517) 373-2417 and tell him that you expect a fair, up or down vote in the Senate on every bill that the House has passed and sent over there. Michigan deserves no less than a fair, up or down vote on the legislation that our elected representatives and their constituents have toiled over for months.

Meals on Wheels Holiday Home Tour this weekend

This weekend, the Ypsilanti Meals on Wheels program will hold its Holiday Home Tour. On Saturday is the the Candlelight Tour, which will feature a first ever Taste of Ypsilanti theme that will include foods from local favorites such as Haab's, Sidetrack, Queen of Hearts and more. On Sunday the Home Tour will feature some of the most decorated and beautiful homes in the area. As an added treat, the tour will visit the First Presbyterian Church and its newly installed pipe organ. For more information and how to get tickets, click here. The proceeds of this benefit go to Meals on Wheels, which provides tens of thousands of meals each year to homebound people in our area. Be there or be square.

Am I the only one wondering how the Citi bailout will go over with . . .

. . . all the people lost their jobs due to the economic downturn and now won't be able to pay off their Citibank credit cards? It will be interesting to witness the irony of sending all that valuable, unsecured debt to collections while writing off all that worthless, secured debt all tied up in mortgages. I can't believe that we are allowing our elected representatives to go ahead with giving all this money to Wall Street banks, credit card companies and other corporations that made bad business decisions while leaving individuals who are affected just a seriously out in the cold.