Groups Urging A No Vote On The May 5 Tax Increase Are All Over The Political Map

Monday , 2, February 2015 Up North Progressive Community, Nerd Problems 3 Comments

In a matter of weeks Michigan will have the opportunity to vote on a sales tax hike, the first one the state has faced in twenty years. Governor Snyder proposed this tax hike from 6% to 7% as a way to fix Michigan’s post-apocalyptic infrastructure, and pretend to put more money back into public schools. Like the use tax ballot proposal Michiganians voted on and passed last August, the amendment will trigger a slew of other bills waiting for the people of Michigan to change the state constitution so they can be passed and signed by the state legislature and governor. This is the first clue that the people of Michigan need to pay attention.

A group of Republicans late last week launched a group to fight against the May 5 vote. The Coalition Against Higher Taxes and Special Interest Deals will work to inform the public that a NO vote is the right choice to make on the ballot proposal in May. The main issue they have is the proposal will allow an increase to the Earned Income Credit, a tax credit Snyder cut in 2011 with a host of other tax credits middle class and working families lost. Faith and Freedom Coalition member and former congressional district candidate Paul Mitchell is one of the leaders of this group.

Another group urging voters to say no to the sales tax increase is Protect Michigan Taxpayers. This group is led by Keith Allard of the Grand Rapids Taxpayers Association, and has affiliation with tea party groups in West Michigan. Americans For Prosperity, the Koch Brothers funded front group for the tea party will also likely campaign against it.

The Green Party has also come out against the May 5 ballot proposal, citing that the changes to the state constitution this ballot measure will make seems to have the purpose of of blurring the definition of what types of education the new school funds can be used to fund. Something that would not require an expansion if the revenues from the new tax were meant to fund education as it is currently stated.

So far, the only people who seem in favor of the tax hike are CEOs and friends of Snyder. School Superintendents also believe the tax hike will fix the issue of school funding. Michigan Citizens For Better Roads and Schools is one group taking up the mantle of being in favor of the sales take increase.

What this all means is that instead of doing what the people of Michigan pay them to do, the state government in Lansing kicked the can down the road and decided it was easier for the voters in Michigan to do their job for them. If people are dismayed by the turnout for November, the May 5 vote will likely be even more of a disappointment.

Deranged Michigan Woman Spews Hate-Filled Vitriol At Lawful Religious Rally In Texas

Friday , 30, January 2015 Up North Progressive Community, Tea Party, Tealiban Leave a comment

Christine Weick of Jenison has made a career out of traveling all over the country screaming bigotry and hatred at people who have never done a thing to her – Islam, LGBT, energy drinks – all are equally worthy of her kvetching the truth at them whether they want to listen to her diatribe or not.

Weick is infamous for disrupting a service at the National Cathedral last November because they dared allow Muslims to pray there. She spent Mother’s Day last May standing on a street corner in Grandville holding a gay-bashing sign. The local news station showed up to interview her just in time to film a woman throwing a slushie at her.

What happened in Texas on January 29 was more of the same. She’s really proud of herself for yanking the microphone out of a woman’s hand and screeching about how the ‘Lord Jesus Christ died for you!’ and being first to speak so God was invoked there before Allah. Christianity and Islam share origins, but you can’t convince a frothing at the mouth rabid radical fanatic Christian of anything. In her own words, she describes what happened in Texas yesterday.

Coming back from two Muslim conferences in Garland and Houston, Texas, I learned about yet another event planned only a week and a half later in Austin, the Capitol. I felt like Texas was another target in the sight of the Muslim agenda. After meeting many fellow Christian believers and Patriots I quickly signed on to the event in Austin. I teamed up with my new friend Liz and headed to the Capitol.

The Muslims were beginning to arrive, by the busload. They had planned to bus in as many as would attend, from all over Texas. We were obviously outnumbered and that alone made a statement for the news media who were also gathering to record the event. Our group of “standers” probably numbered about 50. The Muslims bragged they had hundreds.

I stood with my sign in the area designated for us with the other “standers”. I really had no intention of speaking at all when I arrived. But when I had seen the podium and open microphone… well maybe I would!
Someone near me agreed to hold my sign and I walked past the officers and went towards the Capitol steps and ‘mingled in’. I removed my cap that said “Israel” in colorful letters – it just wouldn’t blend very well, obviously.

The media was setting up the cameras facing the podium and the steps. My friend Liz found me and I told her what I planned to do. I asked her to tell the group to pray for me and also gave her my keys to my SUV. I instructed her to take care of my vehicle in case I was arrested. Then I prayed.

A woman began her speech and commented on how wonderful it was for the SEVENTH annual event for Muslim Capitol Day. She mentioned her affiliation with CAIR, and that alone should anger every American! That’s when I approached the podium.

I grabbed the mic with both hands. And said, “I proclaim the name of the Lord Jesus Christ over the Capitol of Texas! I stand against Islam and the false prophet Mohammad! Islam will never dominate the United States and by the grace of God it will not dominate Texas!” Two Muslims tried to remove me, but I held on to the mic tightly – I nearly toppled over the podium! I intended to finish what I started to say.

The small group that I left holding their signs, erupted in cheers! They were not silent anymore! They continued to heckle the speakers at everything that was said by them. I was allowed to join them after my speech, no arrest, no problems at all with security. I actually think the officers enjoyed the American spirit coming from a passionate small group of ‘standers’.

The irony I find in all of this is that the Capitol would not offer a podium or microphone to the Muslims, so they provided their own. Well, I honored my Lord Jesus Christ by using their own equipment!

We made a difference! The Lord was honored first! Allah was knocked off his block! Praise God!
Rise up Christians. Rise up Americans. Rise up for GOD and COUNTRY!

And to really send it home, they honored the Lord even more by standing there screaming at the assembled Muslims who went on with their program, ignoring the screeching fanatics who were heckling the group and trying to deny them their first amendment rights.

So why is this woman appearing all over the country talking about Satan in energy drinks and assaulting people trying to pray? What other reason could there be than she’s selling a book. Explain This! is 188 pages of incoherent, typo-ridden rambling about the Book of Revelation. 41 reviews of the book so far describe it as, “poor grasp of the scripture” and “naive” and “terrible writing and terrible message!” and “born again bigot” and “seriously?” With a two star rating it’s not hard to imagine why people ask if the book was written as part of an elaborate joke.

Christine Weick sadly takes herself seriously. Just today, in the wake of her national exposure for assaulting a woman attempting to pray she threw down the gauntlet to Franklin Graham, demanding he take over a Mosque and lead a Christian prayer in it. As much as she vents about Muslims being fair to Christians, I have yet to see any Muslims protesting Christians holding public prayer events, Muslims breaking into a private Christian service trying to disrupt it, or Muslims screaming “Jesus is dead” or “Jesus is a false god” at Christians minding their own business. Christine Weick gives Christianity a bad name. Look out Westboro Baptist Church, you have some competition in a one-woman freak show. Perhaps the Up North Progressive could offer a verse for you to meditate upon between Hate-O-Thon events: Ephesians 4:32

The Hypocrisy of Hillsdale College’s Charter School Model

Wednesday , 28, January 2015 Up North Progressive Section 16, Tea Party 56 Comments

There is good news for the students and parents of Brighton Public Schools and the taxpayers of Michigan. The Brighton Public School Board voted not to charter Pasquale Battaglia’s American Classical Academy on January 26. This is after many people voiced their objection to a charter school opening in their community that would take students and money away from the public schools and hands it to the for-profit charter school’s management company. Another issue was Battaglia’s blatant racism, religious bigotry, and tea party rhetoric plastered all over social media. The level of vitriol aimed at the President of the United States and First Lady, anyone who practiced a religion other than fundamentalist Christianity, and his intensity toward people of color were shocking and spoke loudly of someone unfit to educate children. Another obvious problem with the Lindbom Classical Academy was the possibility it would be a religious school illegally funded with taxpayer money. It indeed appeared on Twitter that was the intention of Battaglia all along. As the day drew closer for the Brighton Public Schools Board to make their final decision, the rhetoric changed.

On January 24, 2015, Pasquale “Pat” Battaglia argued on Twitter that his charter school in Brighton wouldn’t be religious.

Two days later, the Livingston Daily Press & Argus published an opinion column written by Battaglia’s partner, Richard Streetman, claiming that the charter school he and Battaglia wanted to open wouldn’t be religious because that’s against state and federal law. Richard Streetman is right; it is against the law to use public taxpayer funds to pay for a school that teaches religion. In the article, he writes:

Those of us on the development team share the goal of the Charter School Initiative of Hillsdale College “to train the minds and improve the hearts of young people through a rigorous, classical education in the liberal arts and sciences, with instruction in the principles of moral character and civic virtue.”

Streetman quotes the mission statement of Hillsdale Academy. Sounds pretty good; liberal arts and sciences, moral character, and civic virtue. It seems odd that a school that preaches about not taking any federal or state money to run their institution would be helping charter schools open because they take national and state revenues to operate. Is Streetman telling the truth that Lindbom Classical Academy wouldn’t have run as a private Christian school like Hillsdale Academy?

The best way to find out is to go to the source. Hillsdale College offers the Barney Charter School Initiative as an “outreach project” to open charter schools based on the Hillsdale College model. In their introduction, they state:

To advance the founding of classical charter schools, Hillsdale College works with school founding groups of parents and local citizens who care deeply about education, who plan to apply for a charter, and who are interested in an association with Hillsdale. As a relationship forms with a group, Hillsdale will assist in creating and implementing the school’s academic program. Drawing upon the experience of our College’s faculty members who have led classical schools, and an education department uniquely devoted to classical liberal arts learning, these new schools will promote a liberal and civic education in America’s public schools.

So yes, these are supposed to be charter schools teaching classical education per the Hillsdale College model, and this model is used at Hillsdale Academy. Hillsdale Academy is a K-12 private school on the Hillsdale College campus. Per the college’s strict rule of not taking any federal or state revenues to operate their school, it is private, and parents pay tuition for their children to attend. Private schools offering religious education as part of their curriculum are legal. The issue here is the college is working to spread this model to charter schools. The following section gives more detail about the educational philosophy of Hillsdale College and Academy and the charter schools Hillsdale College wants to assist with opening nationwide:

To understand the purpose and direction of our work with charter schools, we must first revisit the mission of Hillsdale College. Since 1844, our mission has been “to furnish all persons who wish, irrespective of nationality, color, or sex, a literary and scientific education” outstanding among American colleges, “and to combine with this such moral and social instruction as will best develop the minds and improve the hearts of its pupils. The College considers itself a trustee of modern man’s intellectual and spiritual inheritance from the Judeo-Christian faith and Greco-Roman culture, a heritage finding its clearest expression in the American experiment of self-government under law. By training the young in the liberal arts, Hillsdale College prepares students to become leaders worthy of that legacy.”

This mission has led us to consider how we can lead in the effort to recover our public schools from the tide of a hundred years of progressivism that has corrupted our nation’s original faithfulness to the previous 24 centuries of teaching the young the liberal arts in the West. The public school is arguably among the most important battlegrounds in our war to reclaim our country from forces that have drawn so many away from first principles. Almost 90 percent of our nation’s youth attend public schools, and there is no question that public education across America is in trouble. To abandon the majority of our children to bad education is unconscionable.

Hillsdale College’s mission is to save America from its terrible, progressive, secular education system that isn’t teaching children proper Judeo-Christian values. This charter school initiative is beginning to sound a lot less secular.

Hillsdale College wants to make it so easy for people to start their Christian classical academy. They even provide reference guides that outline their K-12 school model, what sources are used for the curriculum (Including the Bible), and even describe how to start the school day. Once a week, the school holds a weekly prayer and sermon.

The College Chaplain attends the opening ceremony and offers a nondenominational
prayer, followed by a short reading from the Bible. Either he or the headmaster then offers a sermon or
leads a brief discussion that elicits a significant point from the shared passage. These sessions promote the spiritual development of the students within the faith traditions of our Judeo-Christian heritage.

Prayers are also given at lunchtime when both staff and students eat together. In addition, there is a section explicitly describing religious instruction that is part of the Hillsdale model.

Hillsdale College’s Judeo-Christian tradition broadly guides the course of study and instruction at Hillsdale Academy. The Academy offers instruction based upon traditional, nondenominational biblical beliefs, principles and virtues that seek to develop those qualities of life characteristic of man’s understanding of his relationship to his Creator and his place in the world. A weekly service conducted by the College Chaplain and the headmaster addresses the spiritual needs of the Academy’s students through Scripture, a homily, prayer and song. Parents are encouraged to participate in these services.

Hillsdale Academy is a Christian school. Unfortunately for Pasquale Battaglia and Richard Streetman, to open a school following Hillsdale College’s model is a violation of state and federal law. They’re not the only ones trying and failing to open one of these schools in Michigan. In Traverse City, Jane Rodda Breederland wants to open a Hillsdale College charter school this year. Like her Livingston County counterparts, she’s just as clueless about education and as free about expressing her narrow-minded views online.

If Battaglia and Streetman want to open Lindbom Classical Academy as a private school and charge tuition so they can teach the same bigotry and racism to impressionable young children that Battaglia espouses on social media, let them do it. The taxpayers of Michigan should not have to pay for it, and Hillsdale College has an agenda to undermine public education in this country. Michigan and other states need to look at this college and whether their initiative to open for-profit charter schools puts them within the purview of violating their policy of never touching the state’s dirty public money.

Senator Debbie Stabenow Elected To Co-Chair Great Lakes Task Force

Tuesday , 27, January 2015 Up North Progressive Environment, Michigan Women Leave a comment

Senator Debbie Stabenow was elected co-chair of the Great Lakes Task Force. She will share leadership with Republican Senator Mark Kirk. The organization works to protect the environmental integrity and is made up of members of Congress who represent states bordering the Great Lakes.

Both senators have a distinguished record of working to protect the Great Lakes. Debbie Stabenow introduced legislation that banned oil drilling, the first bill that passed from her office. She also introduced legislation to help in the fight against invasive species. Mark Kirk has fought against dumping sewage and cleaning up contamination points on the Illinois border of Lake Michigan.

The Great Lakes Task Force will continue to work to restore and preserve the Great Lakes with both senators collaborating together. The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative will be a priority for the task force. This legislation contains many programs and continue in maintaining this important and precious natural resource.

Congratulations, Senator Stabenow.

Help Spread The Truth About Corporate Ed Reform During National School Choice Week

Tuesday , 27, January 2015 Up North Progressive Section 16 Leave a comment

The Internet can be a place for information and communication with others, and sometimes it can be a place for mischief with hilarious results. Not everyone on the web thinks things through very well before launching their campaign. With a little effort, the people hustling school choice could find that out too if enough people join in the fun. This week, corporate education reformers are holding a week long event called National School Choice Week, and this could be a great opportunity to spread the truth about for-profit education online while using the ed reformers own tools against them.

Back in 2010 Justin Bieber had a poll for his fans to pick which country he would begin a new world tour. When the poll was over, the overwhelming winner was Pyongyang, North Korea. The choice of city had nothing to do with the fans voting, because it’s more than likely very few people have ever heard of Justin Bieber in North Korea. The Internet found an opportunity to have some fun, and made sure Pyongyang stayed at the top of the poll.

About a year later, the Republican Party thought they came up with a great idea to get people to sign their online petition to demand President Obama repeal the Affordable Care Act. People who signed the petition could watch a live feed of their name being printed on the petition. The Internet struck again and before long “Butty McButterButt,” “Piss Children,” and the now famous “Weedlord Bonerhitler” had signed on demanding Obamacare be repealed. The video feed didn’t last much longer after that.

Twitter hash tags have also been hijacked successfully by the Internet with results completely the opposite of what the originator of the campaign expected. In 2014 #MyNYPD was supposed to be a twitter campaign for people to share positive stories about the police in New York City. What they got was a viral global twitter storm of police brutality and people venting their frustration at overzealous police using their badge as an excuse to commit acts of assault.

This week there is another opportunity to hijack a twitter campaign meant to mis-inform people about school choice, and instead share the truth about for-profit charter schools, online schools and school vouchers. All of these things are part of a larger plan to dismantle public education in the United States by changing schools into factories that turn out a profit at the detriment of our children’s education. National School Choice Week is a celebration of corporate reform of American education while claiming they’re putting kids first. Using the twitter hash tags #SCW, #SchoolChoice, #forthekids, and others, it’s easy to help spread facts to people who don’t know the truth about corporate education reform.

There are plenty of examples out there of ed reform scams, charter school scams, embezzlement, charter school managers living large on people’s tax dollars and more. How about the charter school that was rented out on the weekends and used as a night club? Charter schools also discriminate against minorities, and especially children needing special ed services, because those students cost more to educate, and that cuts into profits. There are plenty of links and facts to share on the Internet, and it might help inform people about the truth of school choice.

So join in, send some tweets and use a School Choice Week hash tag today. Help spread the truth about for-profit education and how it’s doing everything but helping kids get a better education.

When Sarah Palin Speaks, Who Does She Remind You Of?

Sunday , 25, January 2015 Up North Progressive Candidates, Presidential Primary 2016 Leave a comment

The Up North Progressive went downstate yesterday to rub elbows with like-minded folk and talk about important things. It was wonderful meeting great people with the common purpose of doing good for Michigan. The glowing praise for the blog was appreciated, but I felt out of place with the passing of business cards. Big city customs made this simple north woods blogger feel out of place.

Plymouth, Michigan wasn’t the only place where people gathered to talk about important topics and plans for the future. Yesterday two events took place in Louisiana and Iowa where conservatives congregated to listen to speakers, watch the presidential beauty pageant primary kick off with a parade of potential candidates, and pray away the gay because our country is doomed until only white, straight, protestant patriots exist in America.

Sure, Iowa darling Mike Huckabee said endearing things like Islam is worse than the sun, attempting a rip on climate change; and Donald Trump, who isn’t really running for president, also ranted about Muslims and building a border fence. Marsha Blackburn, who as far as anyone knows isn’t running for president talked about impeachment. The main event of the entire summit of course was Sarah Palin, who gave a 40 minute speech everyone is still talking about today, and will likely be talking about for days to come.

Where does one even begin with a mess like this. After sitting through as many Sarah Palin word salads as anyone else, how is it not obvious to everyone in America that this woman is either on drugs or clinically insane. Here is just a small piece of the ear-scorching crazy:

I THANK YOU SO MUCH. IT IS SO GREAT TO BE BACK IN IOWA. WE HAVE GREAT MEMORIES HERE. MANY TRIPS THAT WE HAVE BEEN BLESSED TO TAKE HERE. THE 2008 CAMPAIGN. THEN EVEN MORE FUN, THE TEA PARTY RALLY WE HAD. THAT WAS FUN. WE HAVE HAD FRIED EVERYTHING YOUR STATE FAIR. OF COURSE, ONE YEAR THINKING THAT AFTER THE SAY ARE, I WAS GOING TO WORK SOME OF IT OFF, WE DRIVE UP TO STORM LAKE. I THINK THERE IS A HALF MARATHON GOING ON. I CAN GO INCOGNITO AND GO SEE THIS RACE. INCOGNITO. IT MEANS FOR ME NO MAKEUP.

[LAUGHTER] I’M GOING TO SCARE LITTLE CHILDREN. I AM RUNNING THE RACE AND JUMP IN THERE. I’M INCOGNITO I’M THINKING. I’M RUNNING IN PEACE. NO ONE IS TALKING POLITICS. I CAN’T TALK ANYWAY. BUT NO PRESS THERE WITH SUSPICIOUS THINKING OF THEIR SIGNALS, SHE IS IN IOWA, WHAT IS SHE DOING? THEY ARE GOOD AT SENSING WHO IS COMING, WHO IS GOING AND THE SIGNIFICANCE OF YOUR STATE. I’M RUNNING, BUT NO PRESS BUGGING ME IF

I WANT TO RUN FOR PRESIDENT OR NOT. THAT WAS THE YEAR OF THAT QUESTION. JUMPING INTO THE RACE, I’M RUNNING ACROSS THE FINISH LINE. BOOM, THEIR IM ACCUSED OF RUNNING THE RACE FOR POLITICAL PURPOSES. I FIND OUT THAT OK, I’M IN IOWA, THE RACE HAPPENED TO BE CALLED THE JUMP RIGHT IN AND RUN RACE. I GOT A MEDAL. THE PRESS IS LIKE YOU ORCHESTRATED THAT. I’M LIKE OH YEAH, ASKED TODD. ANYWAY. MY BEST MEMORIES ARE OF THE WONDERFUL FRIENDS WE HAVE MADE HERE, GOOD PEOPLE, HARD WORKERS WITH LOVE FOR THIS GREAT COUNTRY. THEY SHOW YOUR WORK ATHLETIC — WORK ETHIC. EVEN DRIVING BY YOUR HOMES WITH FLAGS WAVING ON THE FRONT PORCHES, ON ANY GIVEN NIGHT I THINK A LOT OF YOU MAY BE FOUND OUT THERE ON YOUR PORCHES CLINGING TO YOUR GUNS, YOUR GOD, YOUR CONSTITUTION. IT IS BECAUSE OF THAT, BECAUSE OF YOU THE REST OF THE COUNTRY KNOWS THIS PART OF AMERICA AS THE HEARTLAND. LAST TIME I WAS HERE TO CAMPAIGN, IT WAS FOR ONE OF THOSE FRIENDS WHOM WE HAVE MADE, AND YOU KNOW HER, THE SOLDIER, THE FARMER, A GOOD NEIGHBOR, AND BACK THEN I CALLED HER A PISTOL PACKING HARLEY RIDING MAMA GRIZZLY. NOW I AM THRILLED TO CALL HER YOUR SENATOR, JONI ERNST.

Yes, there was a prepared speech but Sarah didn’t stick to it, and apparently never does based on past performances. Shortly after “Thank you so much,” she stopped following the script and let the free-form performance fly. The media today of course is collectively pointing their finger at this mess of words and laughing, but there needs to be at some point a conversation about this woman’s mental integrity and that there are people in this country who think putting her butt in the Oval Office is a good idea.

So here is the question for everyone to consider: Is there anyone else in the world who opens their mouth and makes about as much sense?

YouTube Doubler

Except maybe he knows what he’s doing when he speaks in public.

When A Control Freak Loses Control Funny Things Start To Happen

Saturday , 24, January 2015 Up North Progressive Dr. Ingersoll, Section 16 2 Comments

Miss Fortune has been doing an excellent job as always of covering the pre-trial shenanigans of taxpayer money embezzler, for-profit charter school manager Dr. Steve Ingersoll. The latest silliness that compelled the judge to make yet another decision about the optometrist’s behavior included telling Ingersoll flat out he wasn’t allowed to talk to the prosecution’s witnesses in the upcoming case.

Now why would a judge need to do that?

Because Ingersoll insists that this list of witnesses are his personal friends and professional associates, and the government has no right to make him stay away from them. There is also the business of Steve Ingersoll’s brother, Gayle, ambushing witnesses in the Ray Bradley asbestos trial outside the courthouse in Bay City to hand out subpoenas from a new lawyer Ray Bradley hired to represent him after he was convicted of 4 counts of illegal asbestos removal from a building now being used as a school.

We’re days away from the main event, and Steve Ingersoll is losing control of the situation. Rapidly. Hopefully when this trial is over the doctor will lose even more, like his freedom for the next 30 years.

Stay tuned!

How Anti-Choicers Want To Turn The U.S.A. Into An Atwood Dystopia Novel With This One Weird Trick

Friday , 23, January 2015 Up North Progressive Community, Michigan Women, Tea Party Leave a comment

“There is more than one kind of freedom,” said Aunt Lydia. “Freedom to and freedom from. In the days of anarchy, it was freedom to. Now you are being given freedom from. Don’t underrate it.” – Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale

The Handmaid’s Tale is a novel written in the 1980s’ but still relevant today. The main character, a woman who’s name is never revealed in the book, is living in what was the United States after a violent coup. The country is run by right-wing religious fanatics. Women no longer are allowed to read, go to work or school, or be out in public by themselves. They must be under the control of a man, and the main character is forced to become a surrogate mother for one of the ruling families in the new regime.

Atwood was inspired to write the novel during the administrations of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher. Both made speeches about returning to traditional values, and religious conservatives fought to overturn Roe v. Wade, contraception, and the sexual revolution, among other things they didn’t like about the 60’s and 70’s. Women gaining more freedom with their own reproductive rights was certainly high on the list of things they didn’t like. Then, On January 22, 1972 the United States became a little more civilized when the Supreme Court ruled that a woman’s health care choices were protected by the 14th amendment’s due process clause.

Before Roe v. Wade, anyone working in the health care in the 50’s and 60’s knew the truth about how much women suffered under laws designed to make it impossible for them to end an unwanted pregnancy. Unless you had enough money. The even more ironic thing was a safe method for ending pregnancy existed, but doctors were forbidden to use it. Unless you had enough money. Instead, women relied on unsafe methods that often did terrible damage or even killed the woman. Most ambulance calls at this time were responding to a woman bleeding to death from a botched, self-induced abortion.

Laws banning abortion didn’t exist in any state until the 19th century. By 1900, every state had a version of a law banning abortion, but the exception was always in cases of rape or incest, or if you had enough money. Birth control was also widely used to stop unwanted pregnancies once safe contraceptives became available. Couples who chose to use them were considered being responsible, not murderers.

The United States is seeing another offensive from the religious right anti-choice faction trying to force women into becoming an underclass in this country. States like Michigan with Republican majority legislatures currently want to pass personhood laws with the false claim that life begins at conception. Last year the infamous “rape rider” insurance law was passed through a loophole, depriving Michigan women of insurance coverage for abortions even in cases of rape or incest. Right to Life lied to people that Obamacare would allow federal tax dollars to pay for abortion, despite the Hyde Amendment banning that since 1976.


Right to Life wants people to forget what it was like before Roe v. Wade made it legal for all women to receive abortions, especially if they didn’t have lots of money. Today, it’s becoming more difficult for low-income women to receive reproductive health care thanks to the efforts of the anti-choice religious right, the tea party, and politicians who say they don’t like abortion to get people to vote for them. In the media, the false term, ‘unborn baby’ is used instead of the proper clinical term, ‘fetus’, cementing even more in people’s minds that an infant is being killed. Nothing of the kind happens with an abortion at all.

The anti-choice movement has nothing to do with preserving life. It’s purpose is to shame women for being independent and making their own choices about their bodies. When politicians talk about “traditional” families or roles for women, they mean women staying home and doing what a man tells them to do. A local church held a mock funeral for all of the aborted fetuses the Sunday before the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, complete with a tiny coffin on the altar. There were the usual demonstrations, and politicians attempting to pass abusive laws restricting women’s reproductive freedom. All of this is done claiming they have to do this or suffer the wrath of their deity.

If someone doesn’t want to have an abortion, they don’t have to have one. That’s what the word choice means. For all of the conservative rhetoric about allowing people more freedom to make choices, when it comes to women making their own health care choices these same conservatives become very expansive with the law. Anti-choicers don’t care about children. If they did, they wouldn’t demand cutting the very services that help women raise healthy children. The purpose of the anti-choice movement is about controlling women, depriving them of their civil rights and rendering them into an underclass in society. Pro-choice Michiganians need to become active again and put an end to this dangerous trend. Don’t want an abortion? Don’t have one. Your invisible sky alien doesn’t give you authority over my body.

Michigan Department Of Natural Resources Asks For Help Finding Mallard Killer At Tip-Up Town

Thursday , 22, January 2015 Up North Progressive DNR, Environment Leave a comment

Michigan DNR conservation officers need help finding the person responsible for killing seven mallard ducks at last weekend’s Houghton Lake Tip-Up Town. The ducks were discovered on Sunday, January 18 and the DNR believes the incident may have happened on Saturday, January 17. The ducks were found near open water where the canal feeds into Houghton Lake at the Iroquois Street bridge. Along with the dead ducks, an injured duck was also found and taken to a wildlife rehabilitation center.

Clues to what may have happened to the ducks include a single set of snowmobile tracks where the canal enters the lake. The dead ducks all had the appearance of being run over. In wintertime, ducks that live in Michigan year round will congregate in areas with open water, and rest on the ice or nearby land.

Anyone who has information about the incident or may have witnessed the ducks being struck by a snowmobiler can call (800) 292-7800 or make a report online.

Let’s ‘Cut’ To The Chase: Cindy Gamrat Is Giving Michigan A Sales Pitch

Thursday , 22, January 2015 Up North Progressive Nerd Problems, Tea Party, Tealiban 3 Comments

It’s thrilling being on the email list for State Rep Cindy Gamrat. Already my inbox has received two lengthy pieces of literature. One is the “Contract For Liberty,” and the second, a response to the Nerd’s State of the State Address given on January 20. Both gave the distinct feeling of reading a white paper more than a statement. The way certain turns of phrases are used and ideas are repeated over and over again so they stick in the reader’s head, it feels like someone is trying to sell something.

The ‘Contract’ contains sub headings and bullet points to make it easier for the reader to skim over the document and get main ideas. The paper isn’t discussing facts so much as they want the reader to be persuaded to a certain point of view. That’s the purpose of a white paper. What’s particularly grating about this bit of grey literature are the glaring misrepresentations of American history and the intent of the founding fathers. The United States is not a Christian nation, no matter how much Cindy Gamrat and Todd Courser want you to believe it.

When anyone makes a hard sales pitch like this, it’s always a good idea to take a look into the background of the seller. How does one know if they are dealing with a reputable business offering a quality product? Cindy Gamrat’s history paints a glowing picture of a wife, mom, nurse, devout religious church-going woman and zealous tea party politician. A quick mention of working for Vector Marketing while attending college at the University of Michigan however brings back memories of fliers stapled to kiosks all over campus with the URL workforstudents.com and promises of lots of easy cash made part-time.

Before Cindy Gamrat was a state representative, before she led River City Patriots, before she led the Huntington Tea Party in Indiana or worked as a nurse, she sold Cutco knives as a college student. If you’ve ever walked out of class and found a piece of paper under the wiper of your car promising a part time job that pays $15.00 an hour with no telemarketing or door-to-door sales, you’ve had your first encounter with Vector Marketing. This company likes to hire college students en-masse, invite them to an “interview” and give a slick promotional presentation to entice them into walking into strangers’ homes carrying a bag of knives, and talk those strangers into buying them. Since Vector Marketing was sued for $13 million they’ve had to change a lot of their policies toward the people who sell Cutco knives for them, but back in the day when Cindy Gamrat sold knives, she bought the demo knife kit with her own money and had to pay her own expenses to sell those knives, including attending the mandatory unpaid training sessions.

According to her own testimonial, she really enjoyed selling knives to people. She also claims that selling knives taught her the skills she needed to take on the task of home schooling her children. This quote in particular stands out:

“Today, when I decide to do something, I go back to my Vector experience and think about how to break it down to reach my goal,”

That’s when it became obvious why her contract on for liberty and her recent response to the Nerd’s State of the State address has the feeling of a sales pitch. That’s how Cindy Gamrat works. Her experience from Vector Marketing permeates everything she does, including her own kids. Cindy Gamrat is not a principled conservative Christian woman, she’s a hustler selling Dominion Christian theology couched with tea party rhetoric. This is going to be a very interesting two years.