Disqus - Latest Comments for lacrosse98

Re: Michigan says no to state health care exchange

steve banicki — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 17:52:51 -0000

What was the state suppose to do? Let Detroit sink in the abyss? Ultimately, state tax payers will be paying part of the bill. Therefore, the Governor has a duty to step in and try to help.

Re: Michigan Lawmakers consider expanding Education Achievement Authority

steve banicki — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 11:51:35 -0000

It is interesting that Republicans preach against big government and favor having decisions made at a local level rather than at a state or national level. How are they rationalizing what they are proposing? Do they think the state can do a better job?

Re: Michigan says no to state health care exchange

steve banicki — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 11:45:18 -0000

The Republicans have become radicalized and splintered.

Last election the Republicans went against one of the laws of science; for every action there is a reaction. When the GOP wooed members of the Tea Party, members of the more moderate party wing became disenchanted. The party gained far right conservatives and lost much of their moderate base.

Moderates felt alienated as the Tea Party and other far right contingents became more vocal and prominent. The seeds of this disappointment began in 2008 as a desperate presidential candidate, John McCain, selected Sarah Palin as his running mate. It was obvious she was not qualified as McCain kept her in hiding for over a month after her nomination.

Over this past week the Republicans did a good job of identifying why they lost so badly in 2012. In 1858 Abraham Lincoln made the following statement referring to slavery, "A house divided against itself cannot stand". This is also true of a political party. A party needs core values and therefore if they are to be successful they must define themselves as either staunch conservatives or a conservative-leaning moderate party. They cannot be both and win. They must choose and they are just beginning this process.

Below is an article written in June 2011 on the blog "Free Free Markets" describing the feelings of one such frustrated moderate.... http://bit.ly/FF1129ffm

Re: Why Did Nolan Finley Ruin A Perfectly Good Column By Denigrating Black Voters?

steve banicki — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 10:31:13 -0000

We also like left wing boobs. LOL I agree with your comment

Re: Why Did Nolan Finley Ruin A Perfectly Good Column By Denigrating Black Voters?

steve banicki — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 10:28:42 -0000

If we learned anything from our current President it is that experience matters. Also, success in one field does not guarantee success in another. Having the skill to perform brain surgery does not guarantee one will be a great President or Senator.

Hindsight says we made a mistake in not electing Hillary Clinton in 2008. Obama just did not have enough political and managerial experience to run the country. The same is true of the surgeon. In one of Dr. Carson's speeches I heard him say jokingly, "Politics is not brain surgery".

He is right, just like brain surgery is not professional football. Dr. Carson is obviously very intelligent. The one thing we learned from Obama is intelligence is not a substitute for experience. Both are needed to be President and a Senator.

In this most recent election, Obama had the experience.

Re: Bing, Detroit law enforcement launch collaborative crime-fighting effort

steve banicki — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 08:44:04 -0000

Detroit's comeback starts here. If security cannot be improved, all else fails.

Re: Kevin Orr,

steve banicki — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 17:24:34 -0000

Detroit is fixable with everyone must work together This includes everyone in the state. Make no mistake about it, everyone in the state will need to pay. It will come in the form of tax increases or a bond issuance by the state of Michigan.

Detroit will also need to consolidate geographically by consolidating its neighborhoods. The excess land will either need to be sold or given away perhaps to potential employers.

Their will also be layoffs and negotiations to reduce legacy costs. Kevin appears to have the skills and he will need all of our support.

Re: RNC: Voters see GOP as 'scary'

steve banicki — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 09:12:32 -0000

The party should be stating what it believes, not what the party thinks the majority of voters believe. They will never be able to fool the public.

It the party believes free markets mean markets not controlled by oligopolies than they should state it. Unfortunately the message presently being delivered is simply one void of government regulation, including regulations to assure the markets freedom. http://freefreemarkets.com

Re: Detroit's new emergency manager and Michigan governor make the talk show rounds

steve banicki — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 13:46:35 -0000

The Governor needs to start telling the rest of the state that they need, and should, be ready to help out Detroit. The city is going to need an infusion of cash. Either the state will need to issue bonds and/or raise taxes across the state. Part of the plan needs to be shrinking the physical size of Detroit and concentrating the population.

Re: Commentary: Emergency Manager for Detroit

steve banicki — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 11:29:49 -0000

The main reason EFM's fail is they are appointed too late. Let us hope this is not the case.

Re: Michigan women lobbying Congress on gun legislation

steve banicki — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 11:24:32 -0000

Top handle is also a stabilizer when shooting around corners. The last time I was deer hunting I had no need to shoot around a corner.

Re: Michigan women lobbying Congress on gun legislation

steve banicki — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 11:22:46 -0000

This is incorrect An assault weapon is more maneuverable like when you are in a shootout with another human being.

Re: Detroit's new emergency manager and Michigan governor make the talk show rounds

steve banicki — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 11:18:47 -0000

EFM's usually fail because they are appointed too late. Let us hope this is not the case.

Re: em hearing

steve banicki — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 13:05:19 -0000

Indeed "A deal is a deal". The problem is the City Council did not live up to the deal. Look it, Detroit is in deep financial "do-do". No one in their right mind believes that the City can make it without the help of the state. The Council should swallow their pride and work with the state to address the problem. freefreemarkets.org

Re: Michigan women lobbying Congress on gun legislation

steve banicki — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 12:15:05 -0000

What is the difference between an assault rifle and a hunting rifle? Up until now I was opposed to banning semi-automatic "assault rifles" because other than looks it was my belief that there was nothing different about them compared to other semi-automatics. After further investigation, I have changed my mind.

Our citizenry has no reason for owning and using a semi-automatic "assault rifle". It is not just the caliber or the automatic fire capability that makes a weapon an assault rifle. An assault rifle is designed to kill people who are enemies of this country and to give our soldiers a competitive advantage. Here is a comparison of an assault rifle and a popular deer hunting rifle. http://lstrn.us/UNjzuU

Often times when our soldiers are in a shoot out in Iraq or Afghanistan they are in a town fighting from building to building and in close quarters going room to room. The assault weapon is specifically designed for this type of fie fight.

The pistol grip and the collapsible stock make the gun more adaptable to close quarters like a home in Pakistan where a hunted man is pursued or a classroom in an elementary school or on a college campus. My conclusion is that for a gun like the AR-15 to be sold to the general public, the following modifications must be made.

Minimum Barrel Length: 20 inches
Minimum Total Gun Length: 40 inches
Pistol Grip: Not Allowed.
Collapsible Stock: Not Allowed
Maximum Clip: 6 Rounds
Top Handle: Not Allowed.

In its present form, the sole purpose is to kill other human beings.

Re: The four most ridiculous things I heard at yesterday's state House hearing on preschool funding

steve banicki — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 10:01:22 -0000

Sometimes I think the G.O.P. does not realize in order for this country to compete in the global economy of the mid 21st century we will need to utilize every resource available to fend off the relative economic rise of countries like China, India, Brazil, Russia and even Mexico. We are not going to win this competition by squandering resources.

The biggest untapped resource being wasted is the millions of citizens living at or near poverty that today are most worried about living day to day. The Republicans have no problem with giving subsidies to oil companies to keep drilling for oil so it will be inexpensive to fill up their tank tomorrow. We recognize that some oil wells come up dry, but that is part of the cost of doing business

That same Republican rants about providing food stamps to our greatest resource, our citizens, so they can get past thinking about feeding their family and begin to invest in their families future.That same Republican is against providing funds for early school education so we are better able to keep up with China 15 to 20 years from now.

It is time us Republicans become wiser investors in this countries resources. I guess we do not put much value on human capital included in the 47% Romney referred to during the campaign. We are short-term thinkers.... http://lstrn.us/Yd0NJt-2

Re: Commentary: Facing reality in Detroit

steve banicki — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 16:38:33 -0000

I have the privilege of being "friends" on Facebook with several black residents of Detroit in the age range between 20 and 35. Listening to them is what gives me hope for Detroit. In general they look at the EFM as a positive thing since the current politicians have done very little. I asked a young lady what she wanted out of the leadership and her answer was two words "Physical Security".

Without that what do you have? Based on listening to these young adults in Detroit, I have concluded Detroit will succeed!!

Re: Romney's older brother interested in Levin seat

steve banicki — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 17:09:16 -0000

His biggest negative may be his age. He won't be there long enough to get much seniority.

Re: From nymph to fly: flies 101

steve banicki — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 12:31:05 -0000

http://freefreemarkets,com

Re: Despite all the problems, some businesses moving to Detroit

steve banicki — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 11:00:34 -0000

I don't understand the leaders of Detroit. Snyder is the most "non-political" politician you are going to ever see. All he wants to do is fix the problem. Detroit needs the money that the state can provide.

He is the Governor of all the people of Michigan, including Detroit. The only logical reason for not reaching out to him is the Mayor and city council do not want to lose their influence and power. I have news for them. The Captain of a sinking ship sinks with the vessel. Help Snyder; don't put up road blocks.

Re: Commentary: Carl Levin bows out

steve banicki — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 07:11:57 -0000

It is true. He is one of a few politicians who took on big money ad the banking field. It is truly a shame that so few of his fellow senators did not follow him in this matter.

Re: Lawmakers have tough questions for Governor Snyder's plan to increase preschool funding

steve banicki — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 22:58:27 -0000

The way we account for spending also contributes to our short-term thinking. When Dwight Eisenhower's administration spent billions of dollars to build our interstate highway system it was all recorded as an expenditure on the day it was paid out. When a corporation spends millions to expand its plant, equipment and parking lot it identified the cost of construction as an asset that will provide a return on investment over several decades. Any investment we make in human capital today will provide a return on the investment over decades, maybe centuries, to come.

Republicans have a hard time adapting their "every man for himself" concept. That is not what they preach while running and managing their corporation. Instead, they preach teamwork to achieve the goals of the entity. Their objective is to optimize the return on all assets available to the entity, including human assets. That is what the entity called the United States of America needs to do.

Re: Lawmaker calls out schools for skirting new right-to-work law, few answer

steve banicki — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 22:46:14 -0000

I read the details of Wayne States agreement and it seems to me the school struck a pretty good deal.As I recall it was an eight year contract and raises in the first year were held to 1.375% and 1.25% thereafter. Not bad.

Re: Segregation by class at play in preschools

steve banicki — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 22:38:00 -0000

The way we account for spending also contributes to our short-term thinking. When Dwight Eisenhower's administration spent billions of dollars to build our interstate highway system it was all recorded as an expediture on the day it was paid out. When a corporation spends millions to expand its plant, equipment and parking lot it identified the cost of construction as an asset that will provide a return on investment over several decades. Any investment we make in human capital today will provide a return on the investment over decades, maybe centuries, to come.

Re: Segregation by class at play in preschools

steve banicki — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 22:35:27 -0000