Blog, Blog, Blog

I am sitting in a room full of bloggers. Not all of them are writing, but it sounds like they are all talking. Outside the room they are talking as well. They are on a break from an interesting conglomerate of speakers. Last night George Will, Dinesh D'Souza, Ed Meese and more gave tributes to Ronald Reagan and free market economy. The hotel is filled with about 1800 enthusiastic conservatives that still believe there is a future for capitalism.

This morning the list of speakers was equally impressive. John Stossel from ABC 20/20, Fred Barnes of the Weekly Standard, Steve Moore and John Fund from the Wall Street Journal, Herman Cain radio talk show host, Grover Norquist from Americans for Tax Reform (and the list goes on) gave insights into what we should be doing. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are perfect examples why the Federal Government should keep out of our business. (Do you really want these people to take care of our health insurance?)

I'm off to my next conference. Hope to get into more detail later.

From the AFP Conference

I am writing to you from the Americans For Prosperity Conference in Arlington, Virginia. We had conferences about blogging and networking and then eminent domain, land development and environmentalists. That's a heck of a lot for a morning. The next event is the Capitol Hill Rally and news conference.

There are hundreds of people who have not arrived yet. How do I know? Because there are tables loaded with name tags that have not yet been claimed. I'm hoping to be able to give you more information direct from the conference today and tomorrow. The speaker's list is impressive. I know you will be sorry you missed it. People here are real friendly. Strangers come up and talk to you. The mood is light in spite of the gloomy economic climate. As things come up along the way I'll be back to you. There is an impressive list of speakers. I'll be reporting on them later on today. In the meantime, make an effort to do something important while I'm away.

From the AFP Conference

Redford Invades Dearborn Heights

The night was dark, cool and still. The Dearborn Heights council chamber was pregnant with anticipation. The candidates for the 17th district were beginning to exhibit anxiousness for the debate to begin. Andy Dillon the smooth talking villain vs Sandra Egger friend to the rich and the begger , were sizing each other up. The Dearborn / Dearborn Heights League of Women Voters were preparing the order of their questions.

Without warning, Team Handy spread themselves throughout the chamber. For those of you who are not familiar, they are a group of politicians and supporters from Redford Township. Among them, was Miles (Boss Hog) Handy, the recently (thank goodness) defeated township supervisor. Along with him was county Commissioner Phil Cavanaugh, the fire chief, Cavanugh's wife, who though unqualified, is seeking to be treasurer of Redford, all in all there were about 15 of them.

As they swaggered in, they had a smug and confident look on their faces. I have yet to understand how Dillon became an underling in Team Handy, given his position as the Speaker of the State House. What I did notice is that some of them behaved like children who thought that making faces gave them bravado.

Dillon appeared uninterested. Egger appeared nervous. The questions where asked. Dillon lied with a straight face. He continued to pretend he cut the budget by $400 million when it was the proposed increase that was cut. Egger nervously gave her answers but she remained true to herself and the taxpayers. Dillon tried to to impress with his fancy words and composure. Egger spoke with sincerity and conviction.

In the end, in spite of their cockiness, the Redford Ruffians settled for a hamburger and a drink at a local bar instead of a pint of blood.

Dillon Up to His Old Tricks

With the help from his friends in the legislature. Speaker Andy Dillon has managed to shift taxes from the have nots to the have just a littles. I have been busy the last few days, so I have gotten behind in my reading. I came across the Right Michigan blog. In that blog they referenced HB6162.

The legislative analysis states this:

If a taxpayer is elegible for an exemption, the board of review would grant the exemption for the tax year in which the application was filed, and for the immediately preceding tax year if the taxpayer would have been eligible for an exemption that year. If the board of review did so,any exempted and unpaid taxes, interest, penalties, and fees for the immediately preceding tax year would be extinguished......

The local board of review could deny an exemption for one or more of the following reasons:

1. the person claiming the exemption was not a qualified taxpayer
2. the claim for exemption was based on fraud
3. the qualified taxpayer had no interest in the property for which the exemption was claimed, and the claim was an attempt to avoid the collection of taxes
4. the state equalized valuation of the principal residence for which an exemption was claimed was 200 percent or more greater than the median value of a principal residence in the local tax collection unit.

Doesn't sound to bad. Well who is going to make up the revenue? In the Right Michigan article they refered to the problem with bonds and referenced the increase that will be required on those still paying taxes, to meet the annual payments. It is much worse than that and difficult to explain.

There aren two thing that govern the level of taxation on our taxable value. The first is the Headlee Amendment (Article 9 Section 26-32 of the State Constitution) which limits the revenue to local units of governmet to the rate of inflation and the second is Proposal A, which limits the increase in the taxable value of individual property to the rate of inflation or 5% which ever is less. The amount of the millage rollback, if any, is determined by the total taxable value in a local unit of government. That means your school district, city or township, and county determine how many mills they can levy by basically taking last years revenue, plus any additions or deleations of property and figuring how much revenue they are entitled to under the Headlee Amendment.

As some people's taxable value decrease or disappear , as in HB 6162 the burden is shifted to others still paying taxes. Article 9 Section 31 of the State Constitution assures local units of government a certain level of revenue;

I have tried to simplify a very complex tax system. You might want to consult the Citizen's Research Council for the more complicated version.

As you know, your taxes have continued to rise while your property values have declined. People ask me why every day. How can this happen? When taxable values continue to be capped each year to the rate of inflation due to Proposal A, assessments increased at a much faster rate. The difference between your taxable value and assessed value was still too great for you to experience a reduction. Surprisingly, the legislature noticed that too. They passed House Joint Resolution III to revise the Proposal A assessment cap for declining values. This from MichiganVotes.org :

Received in the House on September 25, 2008, to place before voters in the next general election a Constitutional amendment to establish that, after 2010, if a property's assessed value decreases the taxable value not be allowed to increase, as it does now under the enacting language adopted by the legislature following passage of the 1994 Proposal A. If the assessed value increased by less than the rate of inflation, the assesment increase could not exceed that amount. Passed in the House (101 to 0) on September 25, 2008, to place before the voters in the next general election a Constitutional amendment to establish that after 2010, if a property's assessed value decreases the taxable value not be allowed to increase, as it does now under the enacting language adopted by the legislature following the passage of the 1994 Proposal A. If the assessed value increased by less than the rate of inflation, the assessment increase could not exceed that amount.

Keep in mind that this would still be a tax shift because the revenue is still guaranteed to the local units of government under the Constitution. The millage would just not be rolled back as much and those who have purchased their houses after 1994 when Proposal A passed will still be paying more than their fair share and those who receive an exemption would shift their share to others.

Taxpayers Prevail

I've been spending a lot of time in court this past year and it's all because of the recall of Speaker Andy Dillon. The first time in circuit court to get the wording on petition approved. Next to federal court to defend my First Amendment rights so that we would be able to count signatures that they threw out and twice this past week back to circuit court to remove the last two paragraphs of the language submitted by Dillon which criticizes us instead of defending his position - a definite violation of the law. A year is a long time just to get a question on the ballot. They say the process is too easy. I say it is too hard and costly. At least we made it a little easier in the future by having the court affirm our rights.

During this whole ordeal, they have complained that we have been getting financial resources from outside the district. Most of our funds came from people who own businesses in Michigan and who have gotten stuck with huge increases in taxes. The rest was from more than 250 individuals who were sick of cuts in their own personal budgets, while the state continued to increase spending and raise taxes. We delivered petitions to almost every house in the district. Anyone could have sent in invalid signatures. That includes Dillon's supporters or even Dillon himself.

Now that we have the ballot question settled, its time to get down to business. I think it is time to put the garlic around our neck, take our wooden stakes (for our signs), get to the heart of the matter and take care of the task at hand.
I am told that Dillon has a quarter of a million dollars to run his campaign with. He didn't collect that much from voters in his district. Could it be he got it from all the lobbyists and special interest groups he reported on his campaign statement?
He has some nerve complaining about us. No mater where any ones money came from the question is where it belongs - finally in the hands of the voters of the 17th district.

Drill Here Drill Now

This gets me right in the mood. If you go to our website homepage and click on the oil rig you will hear the new song by country music star Aaron Tippin. Below the picture, if you click on the link, you will see a video from American Solutions.com. You should do it because it is a really great song and quaint video.

Preliminary results of mine and my sons Hydrogen fuel cells which we have had installed in our vehicles are good. My son's 2002 Ford F150 truck is getting an average increase of 57% in his gas mileage. I am driving a 1993 Crown Victoria and I have experienced a 50% increase in my mileage. Both of these should improve with continued use and as the oxygen sensor adjusts. Please note the nickel in the picture, so you can judge the size.

My nephew says he is going to replace our units with the new and improved version which he is ready to put into production soon. He has a patent pending and is securing funding. Soon you too will be able to tell foreign oil producers Americans can become more energy independent. Go to American Solutions.com to join the fight.

Considder the Whole Deal

I was pretty miffed a couple of weeks ago when the Michigan Court of Appeals and the State Supreme Court refused to hear the case for the recall of Speaker Andy Dillon. I've cooled off now. As November gets closer, I was thinking about judges. I read in the newspaper that the Democrats have chosen Judge Diane Hathaway to be their candidate for the Supreme Court, so I started checking her out. That sweet gentle face has the heart of a left wing liberal.

Hathaway has been a Wayne County circuit judge since 1993. She ran unsuccessfully for the Michigan Court of Appeals in 2006. She was a supporter of the Reform Michigan Government Now proposal.That was the proposal that almost re-wrote the entire State Constitution. Good thing the lower courts decided it could not go on the ballot because it was to broad. The proposal was very poorly written and would have made sweeping changes that would have effected all of us negatively. She has the support of the union bosses. I am not sure of the rank and file. Her criticism of Justice Taylor is that he is to pro-business and not generous to the little guy. Which means he doesn't ere on the side frivolous lawsuits. According to the Detroit News, Hathaway called Taylor a "walking conflict of interest" who too often rules in favor of insurance companies at the expense of middle-class Michigan residents.

Insurance companies will settle almost any case to avoid Wayne County Courts. They know they can not win no matter what the circumstances and even if there is liability the courts and juries will usually grant outrageous awards. She has sympathy for those award and is running against the conservative Chief Justice Clifford Taylor.

Justice Taylor can certainly defend himself but no matter I felt that you should know more about him. This is from his election website:

" Chief Justice Taylor is considered a strict constructionist, and is frequently invited to teach new jurists throughout the country. He is the co-author of a three-volume work entitled Torts which covers personal injury law in Michigan. He was recently named the Man of the Year by the Police Officers Association of Michigan, having previously been their Jurist of the Year. He has also been honored by Mothers Against Drunk Driving, and was given the Grano Award for Judicial Excellence by the Federalist Society.

Chief Justice Taylor serves on the Board of the George Mason University Law and Economics Center, which provides judicial education across the country. He served in the past on the Board of Directors of the National Conference of Chief Justices, the Michigan Legislature’s Commission on the Courts in the 21st Century, and on the Michigan State Board of Law Examiners.

His community activities have included service on the Board of Directors of Chief Okemos Council of the Boy Scouts of America, and the Board of Directors for the Michigan Dyslexia Institute."

Given the circumstances I don't think I will have a hard time deciding.

Off To The Races

Yesterday, the Secretary of State finally certified that there are enough valid signatures to place on the ballot the recall of Speaker Andy Dillon. So, now it is up to us to explain to the people of the 17th district the reasons we believe he needs to be removed from office and not be re-elected. You read right. He will be on the ballot twice. He is running for re-election and the recall question will be on the ballot as well.

When I started this recall, I had no personal bad feelings about Rep. Dillon. I have now seen what he is made of and who he hangs with and my feelings have changed. It has made me more committed to remove him from office. We have to re-emphasize the reasons he was wrong to raise our taxes instead of cutting the state budget. I hope to keep providing other information which will reinforce that conclusion. His friends and tactics also hold a place in judging his character and where his loyalties rest.

Recall 1983

I am in the process of reprinting an old blog for those of you interested in the history of the 1983 Recalls. the video is very long but, it provides a lot of information.
The blog itself provides my perspective.

Friday, October 26, 2007

Recall 1983

I just finished watching a historical presentation on the recalls of 1983. I can not comment on the other recalls, although I knew the people involved, but I sure can comment on the McCullough Recall because I was smack dab in the middle of it. It was one of the coldest winters I can remember. This was truly a grass roots movement. We had next to no money and we only had our anger to keep us warm.

In the panel presentation, McCollough says he sent out people to present his side of the story. They were like thugs. We had to call the police on them several times. They badgered people who came up to sign. I remember him calling us a dogs breakfast and malcontents. We believed and I still do to this day, that it was some of his supporters who signed the petitions more then once. There were probably others who signed more than once by mistake because we were frequently in front of the same stores over a three month period. Some people may have forgotten if they signed. There were three signatures that appeared on a petition that were forged according to his handwriting specialist. When we investigated those three people said they did indeed sign the petition and we could not find the signatures on other petitions turned in. My question is who would think to hire a handwriting annalist to look over all those petitions unless you expect to find something.

I will also tell you right now that John Engler never had the authority to stop the recall nor did anyone else. They were collected by people who wanted McCollough removed from office and that was not something to be bargained away by anyone in Lansing no matter what they may have said.

Rose Bogaert, Chair
Wayne County Taxpayers Assn.

At Last Victory

I am delighted to announce that in the matter of :

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN
SOUTHERN DIVISION

ROSE BOGAERT,
Plaintiff,

File No. 1:08-CV-687

v.

HON. ROBERT HOLMES BELL

TERRI LYNN LAND, individually and in
her official capacity as Michigan Secretary
of State,
Defendant,
ANDREW DILLON, WAYNE COUNTY
CLERK CATHY M. GARRETT, and
WAYNE COUNTY ELECTION
COMMISSION,
Intervenors.

We won! After all is said and done, the taxpayers of the 17th district will get to vote on the recall of Speaker Andy Dillon. If all goes well at the Secretary of States Office and we have no reason to believe it will not, the recall will appear on the November ballot. If you wish to read the whole decision, go to our website and click on Special Reports.

Now the challenge is to remove him from office. Andy Dillon the Taxpayers Villian has many resources behind him but we are hopeful that the people will remember the damage he has helped create in this state and continues to ignore, including higher taxes and a bad business climate

MEA and MESSA v Learning

Yesterday I attended a luncheon where the guest speaker was Kyle Olson who is President of Strategy for the Education Action Group (EAG). The EAG is a group of citizens and School Board leaders who are working together to insure that most tax dollars for education are spent to educate students. They are all about supporting school boards who make those tough decisions. When Michigan Senate Bill 418 passed, it allowed school districts to gain access and obtain anonymously "Health Insurance Claim Data" for bidding purposes and required that they get four competing bids. This video tells one story.

According to Mr. Olson, "the mission of the MEA and MESSA is not to look out for the best interests of the school districts - its to make sure that their members are receiving the best "Compensation and Benefits possible".

I am always befuddled by the fact that over 30% of our taxes go to education and we spend so little time electing qualified people who have lots of backbone to manage our districts.

It is nice to have caring parents on the board and others that reflect the demographics of the district but they need to have skills that will allow them to manage the millions of dollars entrusted to their care.

WCCC Sticks It's Hand Out Again

In an article in The Detroit News, it was indicated that Wayne County Community College will be asking for 1.5 mills on the November ballot. That is $1.50 for every $1,000 of taxable value of your home and property in Wayne County. What has changed since last year. The economy has gotten worse, more people have lost their jobs and must retrain and we have an unprecedented defection from the state. What are the reasons for the failure of the millage last year?

Wayne County Community College history has been marked with distasteful episodes. Classes listed but not held, students enrolled without attending and teachers paid for classes they rarely taught. It is true that of late it has operated much better and has expanded its suburban population to 40%.

So why did they choose to put the millage on last year when it did not expire until 2011? Some say it was to take advantage of a low turnout election. I say it was much more devious than that and they are doing it again. The language referred to in the newspaper this year suggests that they are requesting a renewal, when in reality, a levy of 1.5 mills would actually be an increase. It would undue any gains we would of had for the last 10 years under the Headlee Amendment which has limited the revenue increase to the rate of inflation and rolled the millage back. Since 2001, they have had an increase in student population from 17,000 to 70,000. A number of students require remediation. That means the education we have been paying for the last 12 years has been less than adequate.

I wonder if they know that if the millage is set to take effect as a renewal and passes this year they will have to take any reduction that occurs the next two years until the millage is levied? That was part of an Attorney General decision made this past year.

WCCC says they need to plan. So do we. Will our assessments be up or down in 2011? Will we be in or out of a recession? Will Michigan be in better shape or worse? Will population grow or decline? Will we have the personal revenue to pay for the tax increase, since every level of government is trying to hit us up for more money?

Fancy buildings do not an education make.

No Bumps

I went to a wedding in Ohio over the weekend and the first thing I noticed is that the roads were wonderful. Smooth as a baby's behind. The next thing I noticed is that I didn't have to detour. The part I like best is, there was only one half mile, from the Border to Nelsonville (60 miles past Columbus) that had any construction barrels.

What makes Michigan different? Is the weather so different? It seems we do have two seasons in Michigan, winter and under construction and we do not have the good sense to leave the alternate route from being under construction too. For years, before my mother moved in with me, I had to fight to get from the west side of town to the east side of town because the roads were being worked on. By the time next year would roll around, that stretch of highway needed repair and they were working on repairing a stretch a mile away. I know they are collecting taxes to fix the roads, but I think at some point they should learn to do a good job. Maybe that is the reason there are so few people coming to Michigan. They are having trouble getting here. I might have to rethink that idea because they seem to have little trouble leaving.


Update on my Hydrogen fuel cell. I still have not gotten my odometer replaced, but can sure tell the difference on my gas gage.
to be continued.....

Kwame Ordered to Jail

Kwame Kilpatrick has been ordered to jail for breaking the restrictions of his bond. He not only left the city, he left the country. He went to Canada on city business but the condition of his bond was that he not leave the city. The judge says he is not making the mayor an example. He says he would have put anyone who broke bond in jail.

If Kwame felt the need to leave for the sake of city business, he should have requested permission from the court. This is just another example of how politicians think that the law does not apply to them but only one the people they proport to represent.

Call Speaker Pelosi

Well it is 11:46 am and I have not received my odometer yet. I had previously wrote about the hydrogen fuel cell I put on my car. Well my odometer broke and I don't know how many miles per gallon I'm getting. So it gives me another reason to be angry at Speaker Pelosi as I watch all those dollars pile up at the gas pump.

Please call Speaker Pelosi at 1-202-225-0100 and tell her to call congress back into session for an up or down vote on energy legislation.

In support of this issue "Americans for Prosperity" is sponsoring an interesting event.

Save the Dates
August 13 and August 14

Hot Air Balloon to Stop in Farmington, Kalamazoo

Gas prices are squeezing your budget! Yet some lawmakers in Congress continue to refuse to support free-market measures that would lower energy costs. And global warming alarmists like Al Gore cheer misguided policymakers on by calling for more energy taxes and regulation.

Join Americans for Prosperity's 70-foot-tall hot air balloon in Farmington or Kalamazoo to learn more about the Hot Air in the energy debate. These events will be fun for the whole family and completely free! Bring the kids out for dinner/breakfast and a tethered hot air balloon ride.* The first 50 pre-registrants will receive a free t-shirt.

Farmington (pre-register) THIS ONE IS CLOSE!

5:00 PM -- Wed., August 13

Shiawassee Park (map here)
(at the corner of Shiawassee and Power Roads)
Farmington, MI

Kalamazoo (pre-register)

8:30 AM -- Thurs., August 14

Flesher Field, Oshtemo Township (map here)
3664 South 9th Street
Kalamazoo, MI

Contact Scott Hagerstrom for more information at shagerstrom@afphq.org.

Be sure to forward this e-mail. Encourage folks you know to sign up, including friends from work, family, your college, homeschool group, political group, and other community associations!

One of the driving forces behind Congressional inaction on the energy issue is global warming alarmism. We are working hard to bring you the missing half of the global warming issue. What will the impact of reactionary legislation be on our national economy, local businesses, and even your personal budget?

Voting

At about noon today I went to vote. There were two people at the poles besides the workers. At 6:00 pm my husband went to vote and there were two people there voting. It doesn't seem that the voters are very motivated. My pole has a lot of absentee ballots, but this is ridiculous. I think to many people feel left out. They feel it doesn't matter. They feel beat. Maybe it is presumptuous of me to make that statement, but this is the message that many have related to me. It doesn't seem that it matters what party is in control.

Our system of government seems to be evolving into into an oligarchy (rule by a few) instead of a democratic republic. As an example, the following video shows how one woman in power can control the fate of the entire country by enforcing her will.

It has come to the point where the parties support people because they have a (R) or a (D) after their name principled or not. Maybe we need another lesson in voting and what it means.

Well maybe that was not the lesson we had to learn. In spite of it all I believe that in this country we can make our elected officials responsible again. But if we choose to do nothing we only have ourselves to blame.

Rose Bogaert, Chair
Wayne County Taxpayers Association

Challenge Day One -

I have decided to include some questionable people running for office in Wayne County as part of my blog.

WHO IS THIS PERSON DISGUISED AS A MILD MANNERED POLITICIAN?

• A 35-year homeowner in the district
• A wife, mother, and grandmother
• A life-long Democrat
• A Schoolcraft College Trustee
• An adjunct professor at Madonna University
• District constituent services staff person for Speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives, Andy Dillon

Joan Gebhardt

• One of the mean, nasty, thugs that followed, harassed, stalked, took pictures and blocked us from collecting signatures for Speaker Andy Dillon's Recall

I wonder how long ago that picture was taken? I have never seen her hair like that or with a sincere smile and her people skills had much to be desired. In fact she was very loud when she talked to us, that is, when she wasn't insincerely grinning. She is running for the Wayne Country Commision 12th district which includes Inkster, Westland and part of Livonia.

I think she would serve us better in the county jail than on the commission. There are a number of undesirables running for office in Wayne County. A lot of them know each other well.

I'm Doing My Part to Reduce Energy

Here I am out on the cutting edge again. This past week my husband , my son and myself had hydrogen fuel cells installed on our cars. My nephew created this thing in the garage of his house in Ohio, where he has a machine shop. He has been working in mechanical and electrical engineering for years. Two days before he came up to install it in my 1993 Crown Victoria (definitely need better mileage there) , my odometer broke. We are running our tests now and it will take a few days for the electronics and oxygen sensors to catch up. My son, who is a chemical engineer, is already getting a 50% increase in his mpg. He can't really tell because he has spent some time time working outside this week in the heat and kept running his pickup truck to get his air conditioner to cool him off.

My husband lives so close to work that we haven't had a real test there, at least not enough to make it meaningful. So that will take some time. I will get my odometer this Wednesday. I did drive to and from Dearborn to Grand Rapids last week and filled up before I left. I had lots of gas left over when I got back. When the car was new it only got 15-18 gallons on the highway. Close as I can figure it only got about 10 mpg in the city before I put this thing on the car.

We will continue to take our mileage test until we get some meaningful data but at these prices I'll take a 40-100% increase in my mpg. I'll let you know how it all works out. He has a really neat design that will fit in any car. I'm really geaked about this.

Did I mention that it works on diesel fueled vehicles as well and that he heated his home with this hydrogen gizmo too.

I was watching TV today and some guy was talking about biofuel from algae. Looks like a plan to me. As far as I'm concerned we can do this thing if congress will get out of our way.

Rose Bogaert

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night...

My attorneys filed in United States District Court for Injunctive and Declaratory relief and damages for the Recall of Andy Dillon.What we are attempting to do is allow signatures gathered from circulators outside the district to count. While recallers are required to use residents of the district to collect signatures, the opponents can call in outsiders to block, harass and intimidate. In addition, if I sign a petition I have no way to determine if the person is a resident of the district. It is against the law for me to knowingly sign more than once, therefore, for my signature to count it must be accepted.

During the recall the opposition sent in ringers to collect signatures in spite of the fact they did not live in the district. One of them even testified to the fact. We tried desperately to do this on the up and up. The United States Supreme Court has already ruled that it is a violation of my First Amendment Rights to restrict signature gathering for referendum. We believe that it is a violation on recall petitions too.

We also want the Recall to be placed on the November ballot. What we really want is a more even playing field. To be continued..........