This site is meant to facilitate the upward flow of information to help our elected officials stay in touch with those they represent. Also as a means to help us (the voters) help our leaders lead.

Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Wednesday's the Day.


Pelosi Queen of the Hill?  Still?
We Find Out Today.



I started writing this Wed. Morning.

http://thehill.com/homenews/house/307997-dems-face-choice-of-unseating-pelosi
Pelosi challenger Tim Ryan as noted in previous posts is using the line that the Dem. Leadership is old and out of touch with middle, rural America.  I would not be surprised if he gave Pelosi a run for her money.  The vote of the Democrat caucus is today there are 198 Dems voting in secret to select their Minority Speaker
A few things in his favor. 
            1.  It is a secret ballot so those with a grudge or who want to make a statement can vote without fear of repercussions.
            2.  This seems to be the year of voting for the new candidate
            3.  His message is a strong one because the Dems have seen their party which controlled all branches lose control of all those branches under current leadership.  (I would assume they would be tired of being in the minority.
            4.  Tim Ryan is 43 years old and from Middle America (Ohio), his hidden message is to bring the Democrat party back closer to the middle away from the extreme left fringe; a place where they can start to rebuild their party.
            5.  If I was a Dem (perish the thought) I would vote for him over Pelosi in a heartbeat.  I would be on the phone calling what Congressmen I have left and demand they vote for him.  But I’m not a Dem so ----  Goooooo Pelosi.  She’s the one.
            6.  Oh yeah the main reason to not vote for Pelosi would be “He’s not Her” LOL

--- UPDATE Wed. 11/30/2016 ----

She Retains Her Strangle Hold on the Dems.


Pelosi retains her minority speakership role of the House Dems.  My fears are set aside.  Like I implied above now I’ll rest easier with the mid-terms looming.  That is when the Dems look to pick up some seats.  Well if they keep doubling down on leftist ideas it will be easier to rev our base up and Pelosi the San Francisco Treat will help us there.  Plus if “The Donald” keeps going like he is we could actually win some seats.

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Michigan Recount.
We Find Out Today



I started writing this blog post Monday, 11/28/2016.  

That was the day I heard on the news that Jill Stein might be calling for a recount of Michigan’s election results along with those from Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.  

Oh Great I thought, another hanging chad Florida 2000 type of thing.

I thought as always, “Just the facts Mam”, so I went to the horse’s mouth to see how that would affect our local county.  I stopped and talked with our County Clerk Rebecca J. Griffin.  That was later in the day and she said she had been working on the recount issues all day.  She thought it was going to be a massive amount of work to do in a short time and probably wouldn’t make a difference in the end.

She told me of some of the things involved.  She needed to hire extra people just to count the ballots.  She talked about how the Secretary of State had to send people to each county to observe.  That in itself is 83 counties and 83 people.  She told me she had already had talks with the SOS, and she at this point seemed consigned to the idea that this was going to happen.  I’ll give her this.   She is one calm customer. 

I’ll give you an example.  There was a County Commissioner race in Oceana County which was within 4 or 5 votes and a recount was called.  I happened to be in the County Building when that took place and curiosity got the better of me and I ended up spending the whole day there.  

The County Board of Canvassers counted and found some votes to discount which created an actual tie and after a couple of long call to the Sec. of State it was agreed upon to pick a piece of paper from a hat. 
  
A paper was picked and a winner was proclaimed.  I’ve run for public office and have won and lost and I would find it hard not to think that if I was the loser what could I have done to get or change just one vote?  I would wrestle with that one for a long time.  But to my local point “One Vote Does Matter”
.
---- UPDATE 11/29/2016 around noon ----

Today is Tuesday and on the way to our Cozy Conservative Corner where some (Yup you guessed it) Conservatives meet every Tues. at 8am at La Fiesta Restaurant in Hart I heard on the radio that the State Board of Canvassers Certified the ballot results and Trump won by only 10,704, and that Jill Stein hired former Mi. Democrat Chair Mark Brewer to be her lawyer for this recount attempt.  That Canvass Board was unanimous in the certification.  The Board is made up of equal #s of Republicans and Democrats, 2@.  

This article http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/michigan-certifies-donald-trump-winner-states-presidential-race/story?id=43826807 gives a good understanding and mentions that even in Michigan with the tightest winning margin it was unlikely that Hillary had a chance to win.  

Here is another article expanding upon it all. http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2016/11/28/official-trump-could-object-michigan-recount-request/94542172/ Notice the Supreme Court mention and problem with deadlines etc.  What happens if we don’t make the deadlines because of a Trump challenge?  Will out 16 Electoral Votes be counted?  Too many questions I don’t have the answer for.

At our Cozy Conservative Breakfast we talked about the recount and we agreed that it wouldn’t change the outcome.  Here is a good article on how much the recount in Mi. might cost and who actually pays for it.  This article suggests that we the taxpayers might pay for a lot of it. http://woodtv.com/2016/11/28/vote-recount-ordered-by-jill-stein-likely-to-cost-mi-taxpayers/  

---------Edited in Tues evening 11/29/2016-------

[Isn’t ironic that if Jill Stein hadn’t run in Michigan and the 51,463 votes she got here went to Hillary.  It would have given Hillary a 40,759 vote margin of victory and Michigan’s 16 electoral votes.  Also note that Ms. Stein had 30,980 votes in Wisconsin and Trump’s margin of victory was only 27,257.  With Stein’s votes Hillary again would of won Wisconsin’s 10 electoral votes.  Only in Pennsylvania which Trump won by 75,018 would Jill Stein’s paltry 48,795 votes not have given Hillary Pa.’s 20 electoral votes.] --------------- 

---- UPDATE Wednesday 11/30/2016 1:45 pm ----

Today is Wednesday and just got back from going to Hart and talking with our County Clerk also did some shopping.  Becky told me that she would have to hire between 8 and 10 people for the recount at $10 or $12 an hour.  She also said some of the bigger counties will be starting their recount Friday.  Oceana’s will probably start Sat morning. 

She also said that there was talk about merging some of the smaller counties together such as Lake perhaps and Oceana maybe Newaygo for the purpose of this recount.  She has been on several conference calls with the Secretary of State the last couple of days.  Becky also told me that the final word isn’t in yet so the final plans can’t be made.

Also found out for sure that the recount is a public affair.  Normally it would be in the County Building but if some counties merge their efforts we don’t know yet where it would be.  
I plan on attending if at all possible, you should too.


Silent Majority?



That’s what I’m talking about.  ESPN lost over 500 million viewers last month and over 600 million viewers the month before.  Who said we are silent.  http://www.breitbart.com/sports/2016/11/30/espn-loses-half-million-subscribers/  

Who says changing channels doesn’t work?  Won’t get people’s attention?  I’ll tell you who --- The same people that told us Hillary would win in a landslide.
 
If you follow my post on Bottom Up Politics you know I believe in the power of one.  That one is you and me.  I’ve written that the “Up” feels power from the “Bottom” when we vote and when we change channels, don’t watch slanted movies; in effect when we assert our “individualness” and vote, act and live according to our own likes and not others. 
We are making a difference.

This quote is from the article by Dylan Gwinn writing for Breitbart about why ESPN has lost the viewers. “ESPN Ombudsman Jim Brady, admitted that the network lurched way too far to the left in recent years, alienating many viewers.”

He is right.

The current problem with them is the same with all other News or Real Action shows.  People used to turn into ESPN CNN and NFL Football to get the straight news so they can decide what the facts mean by themselves.  Now they get a slanted version of the news and are told what to think.  Even in arena of the NFL we are getting commentary that has nothing to do with the game.
 
The Trump victory came from those who were tired of all the BS and back talking and voted for Trump to do a job and he is trying to do it.  We hire (by tuning into ESPN) to get the sports facts and coverage.  Lately it’s like going to watch a movie with a critic sitting next to you telling you what you should be thinking and feeling when you are trying to just watch the movie.

**************************

Well enough for now, leaves need raking.  Keep looking for and demanding the Truth.
Regards, Live Dangerously seek the Truth

Bob Carr
glhotdogs513@gmail.com
231-728-3455

Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Blind Leading the Blind

Blind Leading the Blind





I almost feel sorry for her and the Democrat Party – well almost - maybe on a good day.  Today is a good day for me, what with President Elect Donald Trump (I can’t get over saying that) acting Presidential in ways we can only long remember Presidents acting.  Standing for something, and then matching words with deeds and acting as if he was elected to take care of America for us.

He Was.

Under President Obama the Dems have suffered massive political losses not only in the Federal Government but down to the lowest level.  On this blog I turn things around and call the lowest or Township the highest, after all this blog is titled “Bottom Up Politics”.

A good local example of the coat-tails of Donald Trump was the race for the Oceana County Commission seat previously held by Evelyn Kolby since 2000.  Evelyn (a Democrat) whom I got to know well recently passed away and I was sorry to lose her as she was someone I could talk to about politics from the “other side”.  My heartfelt condolences go out to her husband Edward.  

The point however was that Martha Meyette a newcomer to politics beat her rather handily.  To Martha’s credit she did a lot of door to door campaigning and worked hard.  She was also at a couple of our Trump Flash Mobs, I obviously appreciated that.  That Commission seat included Newfield Township (Evelyn’s home) and Greenwood Township (Martha’s home).  It was shocking election night as the Newfield Township clerk brought in the results for Newfield to see Meyette won Evelyn’s Township by I think 20 votes.  Later Greenwood Meyette’s home township went to her big time and she handily won the Commission seat.  

Isn’t it ironic that it was the Republicans who almost got “straight party voting” eliminated? 

Look also at our state politics during the 8 years of the Obama Presidency.  Before Obama Mi. Republicans only had the State Senate by a small margin, but after Obama we won the State House by unprecedented gains in those 8 years and to top it off we gained the Governorship.  And for me the big one was installing and keeping a “Rule of Law” State Supreme Court.

On the National side of politics the following link shows the states in which one party holds all three branches for total control, the state House, State Senate and the Governorship.  Click on the pre 2010 election then on the pre 2016 election to see the dramatic shift.  https://ballotpedia.org/Gubernatorial_and_legislative_party_control_of_state_government 

Nationally in those 8 years the Republicans won the House and Senate and now the Presidency.

There was a void in leadership and the people’s angst at being ignored was fueling that void and that void was being filled with the work from the bottom - right on up to the top.  A Presidential candidate who listened to the people and their anger and frustrations was needed.  A withering Primary with 18 candidates was fought and produced one.  That was Donald Trump.  He practiced a new politic won the battle for the nomination.  We all know what happened next. 

We Voted, We Won.



We had our man.

Which brings us to the other side, the broken Democrat Party and the title of this blog.  “The Blind Leading the Blind”.  The Donald wasn’t the blind one, his supporters weren’t; but everybody else was
.
The Democrat Party is in a mess much as the Republicans were before Reagan and his landslides.  Two keys here before I start. 
1.  We came back from our defeats, they can too.
2.  We can’t sit back and relax, we have to keep mobilized.

President Obama soon to be Ex-President Obama has said he will be helping the Dems start winning again.  How can it not be obvious even to the Dems that he is the driving force behind their current desolation?  By going to the Hard Left he has alienated most of their working class base.  That is why they are in the mess they’re in, the middle working class has had enough of being lectured too and blamed for his mistakes.



How can Obama helping to lead the Dems after he leaves office, not be a good thing for us?

Below is a good resource to see the gains made especially at the state level by the Republicans during the Obama Presidency.  Which I call “The lost Decade of Obama”.  Here I borrowed from the slogan “Michigan’s lost decade” derived from Mi. Dem. Governor Jennifer Granholm’s 8 years in power.   https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/11/04/the-2015-election-tightened-the-republican-stranglehold-on-state-government/

The next battle for the Dems is to select someone to lead them out of their mess.  Ms. Pelosi wants to keep the job as House Minority Leader:  she offers the same worn out policies that have failed and the American people are tired of.  

Her challenger Tim Ryan (D) Ohio said the following in a piece from “The Hill” written by Mike Lillis.  “We have got to have someone who cannot just go on MSNBC, but go on Fox and Fox Business and CNBC and go into union halls and fish fries and churches all over the country and start a brush fire about what a new Democratic Party looks like.”  http://thehill.com/homenews/house/307799-house-dems-brace-for-wednesdays-secret-ballot .  That bothers me because it is exactly how the Conservatives took over the Republican Party and the Country

Remember too how Trump went to Detroit, got backing from Black and white ministers?

Frankly I hope Pelosi gets the vote from their caucus.  Then that would prove to me that the blind really are leading the blind and I will sleep better.  We have a chance here to cement the connections we have made with the working middle class.  Pelosi if she wins the leadership position would give us the breathing space we need to keep reaching out to truly broaden our base.

The biggest weapon the Dems have left on their side is the Main Stream Media.  How can we at the local level compete with that?  We can and we have.  It is simple, from the bottom up, just change channels.  Stop buying liberal newspapers, stop going to liberal websites and stop watching liberal movies.  

We can and have been making our opinions known.  The flip side is shop at businesses that share our views, go to channels that tell the truth, and get involved if you can with a good candidate at the local level.  Pat people on the back when they do right and not just yell at them when they do wrong.

As with did in politics, we make major changes by starting at the bottom.  First there must be a real reason for our protests (for me individual freedom will do), then we need to organize.  We have seen that the Trump Presidency could not have been possible without all of the effort from the bottom up over the last 8 years gaining majorities in the states.  In effect we created a vacuum that was filled by a candidate.  As I have blogged about before we need a good candidate.  Not just any candidate but one that was tested in battle.  Tested against 18 other candidates trying to fill that void.  A fighter and a winner.  Trump listened to us and we responded and he/we won.
  
It is our job now to fill another void, this time in the Media.  That void is there and has been filled since Fox came on the scene, the internet and Google search, and journalism.  Andrew Breitbart helped fill it and created Breitbart News.  People like Anne Coulter, Michelle Malkin and James O’Keefe and Project Veritas, Drudge and all the rest.  Not to mention Steve Bannon. LOL we have to let Free Enterprise be free. Don't forget Drudge, Rush, Hannity and Laura Ingrahm.

Think about this for a moment please.  Free Enterprise is the last place we have to express our opinions.  Politics used to represent us but became more and more under the influence of lobbyists, then labor came up to help the working man only to themselves be bought out, the media was there alone to represent us against big Government, big Business etc.  Then they too seem to have gotten into bed with politics and labor and big business to sell us out. 

Perhaps this is why free enterprise is being attacked constantly by the media, government, and labor.  It is the one tool we have left to make our voices heard.  Voting which is the political equivalent to free enterprise and which for both the freer the better.

We can use that tool help make news coverage more “fair and balanced” letting us help our elected leaders keep their promises.  Bottom line is that we are the key ingredient to Freedom.  If freedom of the press is the Fifth Estate, then we are the First Estate upon which all the others are built. 

We have the responsibility to judge whether what we are told is honest or not.  If not then it is our responsibility to let them know.  If they don’t listen we have the responsibility to change how we act.  If necessary change our news provider.  We have been doing that for a long time and have seen the Mass media in print, TV and radio going down in viewership.
    
We have seen in the past and now with NFL how just plain people like you and me from the bottom up can have an effect upon what is happening.  With the lack of respect for the flag and National Anthem shown recently by some players, the attendance and viewing numbers began falling.  That already has made an impact.  We have seen it with businesses such as Chic Filet; since their drubbing by the media they are doing better than ever. 

On a local scale we saw the bad press about Fricano’s Pizza because they put out Trump signs and supported Trump.  The Chronicle, MI live and protestors tried to shut them down.  At a recent event I talked with Ted Fricano and thanked him for weathering the storm and asked if his business had suffered.  He told me that if anything his business has increased. He said at the event, this is the first time since they opened the building that he has full occupancy.  Ted is a true example of politics from the bottom up, our voices can be heard.

Bob Carr 
Live Dangerously, Tell the Truth
glhotdogs513@gmail.com
231-728-3455

Just a quick reminder of something one man said that started the Tea Party.  A single voice can make a difference.

Rick Santelli’s Rant that started the Tea Party Movement. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEZB4taSEoA .

Friday, November 25, 2016

We Voted -------- We Won.

Local Stuff


We Did --- We Won

Did your vote count?

Finally news from Drudge Trump wins Mi.  But by fewer votes than originally thought.  Initially he won Mi. by 13 thousand plus votes now it is 10,704 votes after local canvass boards weigh in.  

I queried Barbara Vander Veen West Michigan & Upper Peninsula Liaison for Secretary of State Ruth Johnson and she said there were 4810 precincts in Michigan.  Does you vote count?  I did the math.  If 2 and ¼ Trump supporters per precinct had stayed home, Michigan’s 16 electoral votes would have gone to Hillary.  I know for a fact that Sunny, Patrick and I changed more than that by ourselves.  Local “bottom up politics” does work if you work it.

Here’s How
Bottom Up Politics is a local political action blog.  It is meant to show people what is available for them to do if they are interested.  The importance of gaining one vote at a time cannot be overstated.  So let me tryJ.  

With the excitement of the Trump election, I have been finding it hard to not spout off about national things.  From that election I must admit their is a synergy between local and national politics, between local people and national leaders – one feeds off the other.  (Between Bottom Up and Top Down Both Ways)  Well enough said.  I now turn to local politics.
Monday November 21st at 11:30 State Rep. Jon Bumstead asked me to sit in for him at his, in district office hours at Daniels Restaurant in Hesperia.  I was more than happy to do that although a little intimidated at the prospect of meeting people wanting to talk to Jon and explain their problems to him and seeking relief from him and finding me instead.
 
I walked out to my car leaving myself an extra 5 minutes to make it to Hesperia.  Well if you remember there had been snow and cold previously and I hadn’t driven for a couple of days.  My battery was dead.  By the time my neighbor came over and jumped me I showed up ½ hour late.  

There were two citizens waiting.  I apologized for being late and started taking notes on what they needed Jon to do.  The lunch really turned out good and everyone myself included were happy at the end.  This is the second time I’ve sat in for Jon.  The first was in Hart at the Pink Elephant.  This is a good learning experience for me and I get a free breakfast/lunch, gas money and a little extra on top.

To turn this to the question of how to get involved in politics, I will simply say that for me it all started by joining the local party and then volunteering for a local candidate.  I started in Muskegon and found all along the way that there is very little offered directly to new members to do.  It is a pretty closed system.  

I found I had to just put my head down and charge in.  One really should try to be a self-starter, I had to learn.  It all started with me by asking “How can I help?”

That phrase served me well.  A lot of people come in and start demanding things or tell the people in the party what to do.  I don’t know about you but I wanted to learn from these folks first before I ventured out to change the world.  

It is important even if you want to change the world to know how the system works.  Any way I just looked up the Muskegon County Republican Party and found a phone # and talked with the Chair and asked him if there was anything he could use my help on; coincidentally he was looking for Precinct Delegates.  I volunteered to be one not knowing what that even was.  The “self-starting” started.

Then I started going to meetings and soon volunteered to run the Headquarters.  At the same time, I went on line for a local candidate and immediately found Karen Bui who was the Muskegon County Clerk.  I walked up to her at a parade and introduced myself to her out of the blue, and asked her “how can I help?  She was happy I did.  (Most candidates have very few unpaid volunteers and at the local level don’t expect to be paid at all)  

She asked if I could walk in the next parade with her.  I did then one thing led to another and at the end she was calling me her campaign manager.  I really wasn’t but I sure did a lot of stuff for and with her, walked in her parades, knocked on doors and helped organize events plus a lot of other stuff.  We became friends.

Bottom line is that to get involved in politics as with anything else, you have to not be afraid to jump right in and let it lead you where it will and be open to doing new and different things.  If you remember you are there to help and prove it by actually helping, you will be welcomed with open arms.

First things first you have to start someplace.  Politics can be very time consuming if you let it.  It is a perfect fit for me as I’m compulsive by nature and get way too involved in whatever I do.  This however need not be the case.  

Volunteers are needed all over the place especially during the election.  During off election times there are also County Party events that need volunteers to do the “grunt work” setting up and tearing down table and chairs etc.
 
Also there is an unlimited amount of ways to help if you just sit down and think about it awhile then research it some.  Talking with people gives you the parameters in which you can let your imagination roam.




Above, our Oceana County table at Fricano's
Sunny and Patrick with the red and white Trump hats on.
Below Scott Hagerstrom



Getting back to Monday and what I did after Jon Bumstead’s Office Hours.  

In Muskegon at 6:30 there was a “Meet and greet” put on by Diane Schindlebeck and Ted Fricano at Fricano’s Pizza in Muskegon.  The pizza was donated by Ted Fricano and there was a $10 door charge.  The person we were invited to meet and greet and give our $10 to was Scott Haggerstrom who is running for the Michigan Republican Party Chair.  

Scott was the Michigan Co-Chair for the Trump Campaign.  I am thoroughly behind Scott, along with that Jon Bumstead was the first Michigan Legislator to back Trump and I ended up going with him to the event.  

Plus two new volunteers (Sunny and Patrick) from Hesperia who are “Trump Super-Fans” came too.  Along with them Andrew and Jennifer Sebolt and the Greens came also.  We all sat together.  (See Pic above) Jon Bumstead paid all of our entry fees.  (Diane had let me and Jon know that she needed people as this was a spur of the moment thing.)  We did what we could.  

It was great fun for me as half the people there were old friends and activists from Muskegon.  Representative Bumstead was in his element. 

Did I say that there is a rumor that he may be running in the 2018 election for the State Senate Seat now held by Sen. Goeff Hansen?  

BTW I first met Sen. Hansen when he first decided to run nearly 8
years ago.  I met him ironically in Muskegon at a township social event I was backing and blogging about.  It was ironic because he was from Oceana County and I was in Muskegon, and after that election I ended up living in Oceana County.  I volunteered to help him in Muskegon that day and have been helping him in all the parades and knocking on doors ever since.  

It was through Goeff that I met Representative Jon Bumstead.  As Goeff’s last term is winding down, I’ve started helping Jon in any way I can.  Not being wealthy, I help in all the other ways I can.

There are innumerable ways you can think of on your own to help your candidate.  Just wearing a t-shirt or a hat with their logo on it or a button etc.  For Goeff Hansen in the beginning I took his logo and permission to “Shirts n Stuff” in Cloverville and had some hats made also they told me of a place down the street where I made bumper stickers for him at $1 @.  I sold them for a buck and got most my money back.  I wore that hat at every event for the next 6 years.  I became a walking billboard.  This I just thought up on my own from similar actions of others then researched ways to do it.

The main thing is do something.  One thing will lead to another if you open your mind and let it.   

Regards, Bob Carr
glhotdogs513@gmail.com
231-728-3455




Quick Thoughts and Thanks Free Enterprise Day.

Current Stuff
Quick Thoughts, Then Thanksgiving.

Cabinet pics.

Everyone has a “dream cabinet” that they would offer up to President Elect Donald Trump if they were only asked.  Well I have some thoughts on that.  No I wasn’t asked. LOL.  Here are just a couple.


How about Larry Arn for Education Secretary?  After all he is President of a College.  Rush Limbaugh thinks that would be an “exquisite” choice.  http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2016/11/16/dr_arnn_defends_the_electoral_college 
Think of the panic on the left this would cause.  His college, Hillsdale takes no government money.  Imagine my Michiganian Pride that another Michigander is being considered for Trumps Cabinet post.

I echo Rush’s Excitement

Quote from the article above.

“Can you imagine if Larry Arnn ended up as education secretary?” Limbaugh told his listeners. “You put him in there at education and Cruz or Jeff Sessions as attorney general — look, I’m here to tell you that the names I have seen floated are more solid and better in terms of conservatism than your average Republican nominee would put together.”


-----------------------------------
 
Terrible   Election Results for Dems and Obama.
During Obama's tenure, Democrats lost over 800 state legislative seats, at least 13 governorships and both houses of Congress.  How bad is that?

Case in point, and to my point about Rural America Rising Up.!!!
Places like Trumbull County, Ohio, which (House Speaker Paul) Ryan represents, are front and center in the discussion. ……., Trumbull County supported President Obama by 7 points, but saw a 30-point swing on Nov. 8, and ended up going for Trump by 23 points. ------------------- "We need to talk to working class people. We don't talk to everybody anymore. We slice and dice and we talk to subgroups and interest groups," Ryan lamented. "We don't have a unifying message that we can talk about in every room." ------------------------- "People in my party don't know how to talk to folks in rural areas," said Sec. Tom Vilsack, who has served as Obama's agriculture secretary since 2009. "It's hard for us to articulate a message that crosses the different silos of a diverse party."
Sounds reminiscent of how Republicans were talking before the 2010 elections.



Turkey Day History on this “Thanks For Free Enterprise Day”.

“And so assigned to every family a parcel of land, according to the proportion of their number for that end . . . This had a very good success; for it made all hands very industrious, so as much more corn was planted then otherwise would have been by any means the Governor or any other could use, and saved him a great deal of trouble, and gave far better content. The women now went willingly into the field, and took their little-ones with them to set corn, which before would a ledge weakness, and inability; whom to have compelled would have been thought great tyranny and oppression.”

My take.  People will do things on their own that otherwise they would consider “tyranny and oppression” when forced to do so by others.  It is the difference between telling and asking someone to do something. 

Above all a person will do something they want simply for the joy of the thinking of and the doing of it and taking pride in the resulting creation they created.  That is a personal feeling and is independent whether it be deemed by others “joyful” or not.  It is that sense of fulfillment simply because one has thought and done something on their own which is the salient fact determining the value of a deed.  

It is that chemistry, when individual thought joined with individual action come together forming an individual creation which produces “Joy” or pride in the individual.  That is where all the clichés come from such as “Pride in a job well done”.  It may be a relatively poor result when compared to others who have done better: but name me something any person has done which is better than anything ever done by another person past or in the future.  Of course there are some who hold the record but to borrow another cliché, by definition that record too is made to be broken.  Should we then go around and by comparing our actions to others try to find ways to feel bad about ourselves?  Worse yet should we let the government tell us how much of a victim we are?  Should we medicate ourselves by prescription or otherwise because we haven’t attained perfection?  There is no perfect

Perhaps we need to look to ourselves to learn how to feel content and fulfilled this Thanks Giving Day.

In a sense the “pursuit of happiness” that the founding fathers were pursuing when they wrote the Constitution is a simple flexing of ego, a conscious combining of thinking and doing that makes a person feel good about what they do.  In other words the Founders did not want the government to do the thinking for us and leave only for us the doing.  That is if you think about it a definition of slavery.

The “common good” is best served when individuals act upon their own self-fulfilling wants and desires.  Not upon the wants and desires of others.  Before the founding of America the Pilgrims found it out the hard way.  The later experiment in American self government was founded upon lessons learned from the Pilgrims.

The unalienable right to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  Far be it the right of government to its life liberty and its happiness, rather the American Dream and experiment was built on the reverse.  The concept that the freedom of a country will best be created by that country doing only what is necessary to insure the individual freedom of its people.


We find in this day and age there is less and less that a person can do on their own without others telling them how and when to do it.  On Thanks Giving I give thanks for what freedom we have and on the hope Donald Trump’s Presidency will help to regain what we have lost.   Namely the individual freedom the Pilgrims learned was so necessary for survival.

Regards, Live Dangerously Think and Act Freely.
Bob Carr
glhotdogs513@gmail.com
231-728-3455

Friday, November 18, 2016

The Battle Begins

The Big Battle is Brewing


The battle to nominate and get Congress’s “advice and consent” for the next US Supreme Court Justice to replace deceased Justice Antonin Scalia is well underway.

On May 18th Trump put out a --- list of 11 possibleJustices. --- Then this September he put out his ---- definitive list of 21.  --- He has done this I believe to try and limit the parameters of the argument.  The President Elect has said repeatedly “This list is definitive, and I will choose only from it in picking future justices of the Supreme Court.”  That sounds Presidential as Hell to me.

Trump is gathering his forces and the opening volleys will be heard in the Senate with the confirmation hearings of then President Trump’s nominees for his Cabinet.  Some if not all of these will take place before the full battle for the Supreme Court starts again in the Senate.  From Article II of the Constitution, The President… "shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Judges of the Supreme Court.”

Now to the Supreme Court battle itself, the Michigan connection and what we can do and have done to influence it.


The meeting was put on by the Federalist Society attended by 1700 people in honor of Justice Antonin Scalia.  Many of those on Donald’s list were there.

Guess who hosted one of the sessions?  Michigan’s own newly elected Mi. Supreme Court Justice Joan Larson, who also just happens to be on President Elect Donald Trump’s list of 21 people to replace Justice Scalia. She clerked for Justice Scalia early in her career and to my Michiganian mind would make an ideal replacement.  Please note with pride that Mi. Chief Justice Robert Young is on that list also.  And also note 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Raymond M. Kethledge is a Michigander which makes 3 from Michigan on the list.  Impressive stuff and says a lot about our Michigan’s “Rule of Law” Supreme Court, which brings us to you and me.


Bottom Up Politics is a local blog and is supposed to be about action.  The local part of this story is how friends of mine have worked in the past to insure a “Rule of Law” Court be installed in Michigan.  I was at the 2010 convention when the then Supreme Court Justice --- Robert Young ---pictured above was re-nominated and later elected in 2010, After which he became Chief Justice. 


Locally, we put on an event in which 3 Mi. Supreme Court Justices came to Hart to talk in 2012.  During this November’s election my friends and I campaigned for “Joan and David” as “Rule of Law” judges.  Both Justices Joan Larson and David Viviano were elected and now we have a solid “Rule of Law” court in Michigan. That is the kind of personal involvement I hope this blog fosters. 
Getting back to Michigan Justice Joan Larsen. --- This from the NY Times. ---

Both Mr. Jay and Professor Fitzpatrick said Justice Scalia would have been pleased to be succeeded by one of his former law clerks, Larsen of the Michigan Supreme Court. She went to law school at Northwestern, served in the Justice Department and taught law at the University of Michigan.
“Joan Larsen has a very decent chance,” Mr. Malcolm said.
The list of 21 is long and any one of them would be a great “Rule of Law” choice.  So please forgive my Michigan prejudices.  The one take away I have from this list is Trump’s unwavering commitment to pick someone from that list.  He put it together with the help of the best minds along with those from the Federalist Society and the Heritage Foundation and came up with this list.  As I pointed out, he has said “This list is definitive, and I will choose only from it in picking future justices of the Supreme Court.”  My take away is that he has started making his decision by putting out the list and at the same time letting people know he will not entertain other suggestions.   Please note he said "future justices" plural.  Looks like Ginsburg will be the one needing the crying towel and play dough....  ;-)
All of this along with him talking with his potential and previous enemies such as Ted Cruz and Mitt Romney lead me to say he is trying to form the coalitions he needs and is starting with his own Republican Party.  Also note the cat and mouse game being played with Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell.  That is a match worth watching.  The whole Congressional political thing is what turned people off and part of the reason they voted for Trump.  McConnell was great at political intrigue in slowing down Obama, I hope he changes his tune to one that will help Trump Make America Great Again.--- Note from this article --- the sides already being drawn.   .

What a great election this has been to be a part of and it will be a great process moving forward if we work and do all we can to keep our mid/American voices heard.  Remember as for our elected Representatives, commend them for the good they do no matter how late.  I was extremely pleased to see our Congressman Bill Huizenga speaking at a Trump Rally in Grand Rapids.  Enough said.  
One star in our local Trump universe is our State Legislator from the 100th district Jon Bumstead who was a Trump supporter from the get go.  He was the first state legislator to endorse Trump.  Rumor has it Bumstead will be running in two years (2018) for the term limited State Senate seat of Goeff Hansen dist. #34.  If he runs, that will be a tough battle.  That district includes Muskegon as well as Oceana and Newaygo.  
This could be a brutal fight in the primary if Holly Hughes the re-elected Muskegon 91st district State Legislator throws her hat in the ring.  I assume she will as it is the next logical progression for her.  
Like I said this will be a battle in which Rep. Bumstead could use plenty of help from you and me.  That will be another interesting race where you and I are needed.  Again it is only a rumor.  But put those thinking caps on and let’s come up with ways to get Jon some more votes in Muskegon.  There will always be doors to knock on and literature to pass out but we need to also think out of the box on this one --- if the rumors are true. 
Sunny and Patrick
Regards, Bob Carr
Live Dangerously be a Get Things Done Conservative

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