ACHTUNG: This is not a “fair and balanced” article. It is an editorial by the editor.
The Republican Party has been earning a reputation lately for bypassing the will of the people. Eleven members of the GOP in the House of Representatives have filed a lawsuit to overturn statewide ballot proposals that were passed in 2018 and 2022 by at least 60 percent of the electorate.
This unholy alliance of 11 lawmakers contends that the U.S. Constitution permits only the Legislature to set the time, place and manner of state-wide election ballot issues. Essentially, this renegade group wants to bypass the will of the people in favor of letting lawmakers decide.
We have witnessed too many do-nothing state legislators drag their feet to stop meaningful reforms in elections because they just might hurt those already in power.
I am sad to say that two of the 11 lawmakers filing suit are from this neck of the woods — State Rep. Rachelle Smit of Shelbyille and State Rep. Angela Rigas of Caledonia, who represents Leighton Township. Both are regarded as beyond conservative, perhaps better characterized as religious right-wingers.
If it is true that the Constitution permits state legislatures to govern, such a privilege is not exclusive. In fact, at the turn of the previous century, the concepts of initiative, referendum and recall were incorporated from the Progressive Era in attempt to put election into the category of “power to the people.”
The right flank of the Michigan GOP is seeking to take away that power of the people, the only real power we working stiffs and common rabble have in our democracy, or what the GOP insists is instead a constitutional republic. Making that difference amounts to nothing better than splitting hairs.
One of the most precious rights in our democracy or constitutional republic is letting the public decide on matters that lawmakers refuse to settle or have a special stake in promoting the status quo. Letting our lawmakers decide elections for us essentially makes them a ruling class and us working stiffs the ruled.
The attorney handling the lawsuit on behalf of the eleven has maintained “leftist activists” have been trying an end-around the constitutional process. Nothing could be further from the truth. The activists over the last three years have been making a concerted effort to give common working men and women more rights in deciding how they want their elections conducted.
It should surprise no one that I fervently hope the unholy eleven are soundly defeated in court. Meanwhile, I am disappointed in our two local state representatives’ inclusion in this shameful power grab.
A special message from Captain Bringdown:
I am as pleased with the Detroit Lions’ quality start to the 2023 season in the National Football as everybody else. We long suffering Lions fans have been rebuffed for too long in our quest for a winner.
Nonetheless, I really do have to bring up the Detroit Lions of 1980, who started their season at 4-0. Players were videoed singing “And Another One Bites the Dust” in a gleeful interpretation of what had been happening on the field.
The team, back then under the tutelage of coach Monte Clark, featuring running back Billy Sims and quarterback Gary Danielson, went 5-7 for the rest of the campaign to finish at 9-7 and out of the playoffs.
By the end of te season, some disappointed fans were singing., “And Another One Beats Our Butts.”
Let us not get too carried away. Let this serve as a cautionary tale.
Bypassing the will of the people and unrelated football talk already????? 😞
How about many of the demoncrats letting all walks of life cross our southern border? Is that the will of the American Citizen? How many do we have on bridge cards and welfare? Those that come may or may not take jobs for those that should be working. The queen bees are rapidly becoming more prevalent than the worker bees. The house of cards is not far from falling. We are a nation that is over 30 trillion in debt. Our debt is larger than our GDP. Good luck with sustaining that. Perhaps it’s time for our nation to have self preservation, but with much biased liberal media, saturation of legal and illegal drugs….not likely. My opinion, indeed my choice.
Kudos, “David,” this might be your first Townbroadcast comment with some semblance of substance. But you don’t actually care about the national debt. Trump tacked on $10T to our debt, and I didn’t see a peep about it from you or any other rightywhitey. Heck, I don’t even believe you understand the national debt.
Since Reagan, our national debt has ballooned from $900M to $30T. That number is so large that it is essentially unfathomable by most Americans. Every dollar “borrowed” ultimately goes to individuals who provide services for the government. During those same past 40 years since the beginning of Reaganomics, the top 0.1% have seen their wealth grow by basically… $30T. Go figure.
And then Americans en masse repeat the schtick that we, the unaware rubes, are the ones who have to pay back the $30T that we collectively gave to the ultra wealthy 0.01%.
Our WUS board just spent ONE MILLION DOLLARS for the “Capturing Kid Hearts” grift. It consists of:
1.) Starting each class by making kids think of something positive, aka “Good News™.”
2.) Understanding kids before you discipline them: “What are you doing? Why? What should you be doing? What are the consequences for not doing what you should be?”
3.) Pretending that kids get a say in making the classroom rules, aka “Social Contracts™.”
When asked how they can be so irresponsible with government money, our WUS responded that the money is “free,” and that other schools are doing it.
Not a peep from a single local Trumpee about this colossal grift, either. It’s almost as if none of you actually have the principles that you continually bark out.
Also, I’ve worked with multiple undocumented Hispanics in the food and landscaping businesses. Twenty years ago I even hung out all afternoon with a Mexican kid I worked with in Wyoming, MI, even though I don’t speak Spanish and he didn’t speak English. We watched movies in Spanish with English subtitles and played video games, and I ate dinner with his whole family — mom, dad, younger bro and sis — in their little apartment. I can emphatically state that every undocumented person I’ve known has been a much better human being than any of the employers we worked under, and it’s not even close.
You are just spreading xenophobic ignorance.
Jake,
I must take issue with your analysis of Capturing Kids Hearts. I retired from teaching middle school after 34+ years, and went through that training years ago. It is not new. It IS, however, best practice that many good teachers instinctively implement – that of making connections with their students and seeing them as people and individuals with specific strengths and needs. Those connections are invaluable when classroom situations arise, and they always arise. The Social Contract allows for discussion and better understanding of classroom expectations, and all students, of all ages and backgrounds, have pretty powerful thoughts on how people should be treated in a classroom. I don’t know about the price tag in Wayland, but it may be money well spent if it helps our students feel connected and responsible to their school family once again after the difficulties of the last few years. Or it may be worth it even if it just reminds our teachers and staff that the students are all OUR kids. Seems like the entire community may need that reminder.
Linda, the same best practices can be found in Harry Wong’s old video series (free) or James Fay’s Teaching with Love & Logic ($9 on Amazon).
CKH is a GRIFT. Teach Like a Champion is a GRIFT. Look up the men behind these businesses. They are con men. There is an overwhelming scourge parasitic ed profiteers getting insanely wealthy off of our public tax funds meant for our students’ education, and our leaders are clueless to the bigger picture.
I’ve just made it very clear how WUS could have saved us $999,991.00. Just think of all extra things Wayland could’ve bought with that money! Heck, I’m a *bonafide expert* at this Teaching Like A Kids Heart Capturer! They could’ve hired me for A LOT less than $1M and I could actually work with new or struggling teachers one-on-one every day to show ‘em how it’s done. Seriously. And believe it or not, I would actually give a flying fudge about our kids.
No one from Capturing Kids’ Hearts gives a flying fudge about a single kid from Wayland. This is the hard truth.
Our school board got played, and they’re unwilling to have public accountability for it.
Lad, Perhaps you could be happier rolling on a mat already or playing with a ball. Good day. My opinion.
Why the “lad” swipe, “David”? Did you use up all of your substantive Deep Thoughts for 2023 with your earlier comment? It appears that your interpretation of reality consists of making things up and pretending they’re true.
I put my name behind my comments so everyone will know I’m a 43yo with two high-achieving daughters in our Wayland Middle School and High School.
25 years ago I was a disillusioned “lad” who didn’t understand why the adults in charge made the decisions that they do.
Now I look around, and the people in leadership positions are my peers. But our local leaders are midwits at best. Rigas and Smit are mind-bogglingly vapid and hateful. Earlier this calendar year, Rigas made a social media post about it being Reading Month in our local schools. I commented and asked her what are the three top works of literature she’s ever read. Of course she named the Bible, the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution…except none of those are literature.
Back to my point that you guys don’t actually have principles, I swear it was *just yesterday* that Townbroadcast’s trumpee peanut gallery was emphatic toward me that derogatory comments are disrespectful, and that the principled thing to do is to refute the points.
But we both know that you’re not up to the task. Not likely everyday that you get schooled on politics and economics by an art teacher! The *respectful* thing to do is say, “Thank you.”
You’re welcome!
Thanks, Jake, for calling him out, I’m wondering why for so long it was just David, but now it’s David A.k. What’s up with that?
I’m wondering if he’s partially blind in more ways than one because just about every roof that’s being replaced in and around Wayland is more likely those illegals. I wish the Republicans would stop telling the illegals the border is open, coyotes are handing out flyers with Ted Cruz’s picture on them.
🙂 funny stuff hombre.
Nailed it, Mr Young. Another uncomfortable truth about the Trump-led MI GOP.
The MI GOP Legislature talks a big game about “The Will of The People” until the “Will” doesn’t line up with what they perceive The Will of The People should be.
In 2018, AFTER a ballot proposal to raise the state minimum wage to $12.00/hr and eliminate the “tipped” minimum wage by 2022 and another ballot proposal that would require employers to create paid sick days, the GOP majority Lame Duck legislature went into action writing bills that essentially eliminated the minimum wage bill by creating their own bill with much lower raises and removed the newly passed ballot measure requirement of employers providing sick leave.
Gov. Rick Snyder signed another GOP passed law to require any ballot measure would require a ballot initiative not only require more signatures but any state wide amendment, statute and referendums would require 34% more signature after the minimum wage, mandatory sick leave and moving the power of drawing maps of Congressional and MI legislative districts be moved from the legislature to a citizen committee. Their proposal also would have required every valid proposal would have a minimum of 15% of signatures from each MI Congressional District. (That portion of the bill Gov Snyder signed was declared invalid)
State Rep. Angela Rigas’ central campaign issue was her Trump endorsement. No one should be surprised that Rigas would support undercutting MI voters. She supports the only sitting US President who tried to overturn a federal election for President. Representative Rigas also accepts the endorsement of Moms for Liberty, the same group that supports taking books out of school and public libraries. Angela Rigas also opposed the bill to move Michigan’s minimum age for marriage to 18.
However, Rigas sent out a knee jerk memo saying she’d fight for her constituents right to keep gas stoves, something she has zero power to affect as a freshman legislator in the minority party.
Angel Rigas is another personal freedom Republicans who has no compunction about taking away other’s freedoms if it runs counter to her conservative often Bible-based ideas.
Couchman, just a few days ago Rigas took credit on social media and her podcast for helping Caledonia Community Schools break ground on a new elementary school. Except she was against the passage of their bond, and she chooses to send her children to an exclusionary profit school instead of CCS.
The “does not compute” is too much to process and is not worth the time. There’s such an incomprehensible vacuum of principles from our MAGA trumpee neighbors everywhere.