coit avenue

When free wifi isn't

2007-06-03T11:33:00.000-04:00

I swear, I didn't think this was illegal. According to an article on Great Lakes IT Report:

Police in Sparta arrested and charged Sam Peterson for "piggybacking," or using the cafe's Internet service without authorization ... Peterson was arrested for violating a 1979 Michigan law, revised in 2000. He actually faced five years in prison and a $10,000 fine ...

If the guy had gotten out of his car, gone into the cafe and bought a latte, then all would be OK? The cafe owners themselves didn't know this wasn't legal. What if said owners didn't care who used their wifi where or when? (Reading the full article on the WOOD TV8 site, it doesn't appear they objected in this case.) I mean, sure, if they had a parking lot full of internet users who never came in to buy, they'd have cause to be dismayed. I even have to question this guy who apparently came every day, but seemingly never went in and bought even a small black coffee. Not exactly a good neighbor type, I'd say. But still ... should this this really be a matter of law?

Downtown last year as well as here in my own neighborhood, I was able to piggyback on any one of several open networks. In some places, open networks bleed one into another. And it's illegal to access these? When they're right there, freely available, and your computer is practically begging you to choose one and sign on?

I know my view is probably not popular on this, but I think access to the internet should be as open as the internet itself. And while I'm not advocating that a lot of businesses and unassuming neighbors foot the bill for my access entirely (I do subscribe to a service, make no mistake), it's an unavoidable fact that wifi is kinda like air. We breathe what's around us, freely and free. If someplace is providing free wifi to its customers and, unavoidably, those nearby, why should I not partake? I say good for them. And good for you and me, too.

Michigan a top state for knowledge workers

2007-04-22T08:59:00.000-04:00

The Great Lakes IT Report points to Expansion Management magazine's recent ranking of Ann Arbor the "nation's Number One metro area in terms of knowledge workers."

The magazine said its fifth annual Knowledge Worker Quotient Index focuses on the college-educated work force — scientists, engineers, medical doctors, Ph.D.s and others with graduate and postgraduate degrees — who provide the foundation for a knowledge sector economy.

The magazine also ranked Kalamazoo/Portage and Lansing/East Lansing as "five star" areas in this regard. That gives us three metro areas so-rated in the report, putting Michigan in a tie with Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Texas, all with three five-star metros. New York and Californa each have five, while Massachusetts and Colorado have four each. Sixty metro areas were listed in all.

According to the 'zine's KQ report, "These are the communities that will thrive and prosper in the future, and there is one common thread that runs throughout all of them: the presence of one or more major research universities."

Why Twitter is about more than telling you what I'm having for lunch

2007-04-06T11:13:00.000-04:00

Stowe Boyd points to this article from USA Today’s Andrew Kantor on the subject of Twitter. I’m struck by Kantor’s willful ignorance of what’s at the core of this social presence app:

Twitter is a bad, bad thing — not just because of what it does, but because of what it says about all of us and our need to be connected. Twitter's whole existence is based on the premise that we aren't yet in touch with one another quite enough.

According to Twitter, you see, we should be in touch every second — every moment. This is madness …

What is madness, I think, is Kantor's oversight of the fact that we already are all connected. It is the nature our world in which everything by design is connected to everything else. It is something our ancient ancestors instinctively knew – and instinctively acted upon, in order to live and continue the species. And, as we’ve gained in knowledge of the world that surrounds us, something we’ve sought after always to understand and express.

We’ve always looked for connection

Speech, songs, stories. Written language that begat books, letters. Printing that sparked the spread of ideas via books and newspapers. And with them the migration of people, both outward across the globe and inward to enclaves of villages, towns, cities. Widespread travel, telegraph, telephone, radio, television – a succession of means for making sense of our center, our connectedness. And then the internet, cellular phones, wireless communication – technology-enabled means for understanding the connections that are.

Don’t you see it? We don't impact the flow that is the universe. These all are just our own small means for tapping it, trying to understand it, living in what already is and always has been.

I’ve been watching a lot of old movies lately – those made in the 30s, 40s and 50s where making a long-distance call was worth a raised eyebrow, a second thought, even among those with means. Even I remember when long distance was reserved for Grandma, and only on a Sunday, when the rates were cheaper, and you hadn’t just seen her the weekend before.

But what is long distance today? A rarer and rarer consideration as I call my friend who is 600 miles away at any time of the day or night. And I fully expect that soon it won’t matter if I’m using “anytime minutes” or not. It certainly shouldn’t. It’s a primitive, holdover construct from what’s fast becoming history.

These are the people we live with

Critics of connection enablers like Twitter seem short-sighted to me. Twitter is just one in a succession of acknowledgements of the connectedness of the universe and everything in it. Of the flow that creates and sustains us all. A claiming of our own existence within that flow.

Overblown? Maybe, with regard to Twitter per se. But just ask yourself: What can you learn and know of the world and your fellow humans from even a short time spent with Twittervision (see how it’s evolving already)? That someone has too many choices for lunch (which is some kind of learning in itself)? Sure. But you can also see there’s an ice storm raging in Northern Europe. That it’s tomorrow in Australia. That someone in Italy, right now, is listening to an American rock song. That many many people speak in languages you don’t understand. That there is life beyond your street that you’ve otherwise had little glimpse of before now, that it’s always been there and it continues, whether you’re asleep, awake, indifferent.

These are the people we live with on this earth, and what they do and think and feel has effects beyond you, and vice versa. Yes, these are early adopters, yes they’re technology-enabled themselves, while most of the world isn’t yet. But the implications are further reaching than we can probably imagine right now. And it’s only the smallest beginning.

Nationwide antiwar protest comes to GR

2007-03-18T08:32:00.000-04:00

Damn. I missed it. From today's Press:

Protest arrives at Ehlers' door

GRAND RAPIDS -- As peace protests go, this one had everything: young and old calling for the end of the Iraq War; a rally outside of a U.S. congressman's house, with signs -- some vulgar -- planted in his yard, calling him a war criminal; and arrests of four people, including a university professor who brought his 11-year-old daughter.

Demonstrators on Saturday took part in a nationwide protest to highlight the war's fourth anniversary ...

Weekend links

2007-01-20T10:06:00.000-05:00

What I'm reading this weekend:

Jim Rinck announces his candidacy for Grand Rapids Mayor reports Democratic Edge.

"I'm in," announces Hillary Rodham Clinton. "...I want you to join me not just for the campaign but for a conversation about the future of our country -- about the bold but practical changes we need to overcome six years of Bush administration failures."

Art Buchwald Inaugurates NY Times.com Video Obits I didn't watch the video, but paidContent reports that it begins, "Hello, I'm Art Buchwald and I just died." Interesting. And the Times reportedly has several more video obits in the can.

Weekend links

2007-01-14T22:10:00.000-05:00

What I've been reading this weekend ...

No to Escalation. Congress can stop this, and there is precedent, as The Nation's editors point out. "Ratcheting up the pressure on Congress is urgent. Blocking the escalation is the first step toward bringing the troops home."

Saddam Cell Video Subverts News Packages. Writes Mark Glaser at MediaShift:

Having a more direct view of the Saddam hanging might give us a clearer, truer picture of the event, but it also is partially responsible for the death of at least seven children who hung themselves in copycat hangings. As the filtering power of the MSM lessens, the parental and personal filters of all of us must be strengthened. More than ever, we need to have better media literacy, know what is out there for us to see, and choose wisely in what we see and what conclusions we make.

random notes on blogging, from Hugh McCleod at gaping void: "Blogging is a great way to make things happen indirectly. I say that all the time, and will KEEP saying it till people finally get it [I’m not holding my breath]." The cartoon heading up the post is so true, too.

My dilemma with MichLib Local

2007-01-14T20:12:00.000-05:00

The advent of Michlib Local has given me pause. Don't get me wrong -- it's a great idea to have diaries on MichiganLiberal categorized by county, city and township. In time it should become the place to go to read all of what's going on in any one jurisdiction. It could become one place we've all been wanting -- and needing -- to go to read the important information, news and viewpoints of those writing about their particular areas.

But Michlib Local makes me wonder what to do with this blog. I mean, why post here, when I can post there and add to the collective? What is the sense of continually crossposting at Coit Avenue and Michigan Liberal? Doesn't it make more sense to post at Michlib Local, where others can chime in, and where my information is added to the aggregate of stuff (even if the chorus only numbers 4 or 5) from my area?

When I first saw Matt's post, I thought, this is great! I can contribute posts to MichLib on local information and not have them "lost" among the many. And it seems to me that an aggregation of information and viewpoints from, say, Kent County, can give a more complete idea of the state of things here. Our "collective intelligence" becomes a rich resource and even can be an impetus to action.

Maybe I'm overthinking this. Maybe my situation is unique. I have two blogs: The more long-lived Things I've Seen is more of a friends and family thing, while Coit has leaned toward political commentary. Things I've Seen has also been the place where I've commented on life, media, communications, technology, and anything internet. When I began Coit, I started putting that kind of commentary there, until the governor's race heated up and I began to devote the bulk of my posting to it.

Now that MichLib Local has been introduced, I don't see much sense in continuing this particular local political blog. I'll never be the incisive political pundit that so many of the MichLib bloggers are, and I've been pretty lax on that front lately (mostly because I went to work full time in Sept.) Seems to me it makes more sense to shutter Coit Avenue, move all my blogging back to Things I've Seen, and post what little bit of local political fodder I do have to diaries tagged for MichLib Local.

But I really can't decide. Anybody else have any thoughts?

Weekend links

2007-01-07T21:04:00.000-05:00

What I've been reading over the weekend:

Grand Rapids indie media outlet, Media Mouse, offers a roundup of alternative thought on the Ford presidency in Independent Press offers Alternative Views of President Gerald R. Ford: "As more media filters into Grand Rapids to cover Ford's Michigan funeral and his burial, there has still yet to be any critical examination of Ford's policies in the local media or in the national press."

Media Mouse also thoroughly probes CD03 Rep. Vern Ehlers's record to tell a more complete story behind the recent GR Press article, "Ehlers voices second thoughts on war":
"... the way in which the article ends is misleading and portrays Ehlers as a reluctant supporter of the war when in fact he supported it early on and has continued to support the war by voting for every military spending bill. Ehlers has also refused to support a timetable for the withdrawal of United States troops from Iraq and voted in support of the Military Commissions Act of 2006."

Fellow MI blogger Christine Barry, who blogs Shiawassee County, has been getting some press notice recently. Way to go, Christine!

Dave Pollard is thinking about good intranet and extranet design. Seems to me that most of this holds true for any site design. Good things to think about for the DU public site redesign my team is working on.

"The Dumbness of Crowds" explores how New Yorker columnist James Surowiecki's "Wisdom of the Crowds" idea (his book has the same name) sometimes gets twisted. The Crowd is ... "a collection of individuals," says Kathy Sierra, "Individuals whose independent knowledge (and "independent" is a key word in what makes the crowd "smart") is aggregated in some way, not smushed into one amorphous Consensus Result." It is "collective intelligence."

The idea of "Crowds" in this context "... was never meant to mean 'mobs,' 'groups acting as one,' 'committees,' 'consensus' or even 'high collaboration.'" A good example of the difference:

"Collective Intelligence" is about getting input and ideas from many different people and perspectives.

"Dumbness of Crowds" is blindly averaging the input of many different people, and expecting a breakthrough. (It's not always the averaging that's the problem it's the blindly part)

Big Reds win

2006-11-27T12:15:00.000-05:00

The old alma mater won the Div. 2 state title for the second year in a row, barely holding on to beat Warren De La Salle, 32-30.

(Thanks to the Chronicle for the photo!)

DeVos blog-vertising

2006-08-31T08:39:00.000-04:00

Somebody searching the phrase "Dick DeVos doesn't know Tigers" (he doesn't, btw) hit this blog the other day, so I looked to see what the search turned up. The blog was #2 on the list, though it didn't give the searcher what he/she was looking for. Even more interesting though: the #1 return was from the very-loud conservative Hugh Hewitt's Townhall blog. His post from Aug. 19 cited a David Broder column on the Michigan governor's race supporting the tactics of DeVos and pretty much recommending them to other Republicans in similar situations of trying to unseat Democratic governors. Hewitt quotes from a recent DeVos TV ad (you've seen it) in which a man talks about his personal experience with being unemployed:

"I've spent two months looking for a job. This last month we had to dip into our savings to pay for health care, a thousand bucks a month, but I can't do that very long without saying, 'Crap! I got to move.' Nobody seems to be serious about all the work that's been leaving the state. The next governor, they need to be serious about bringing work into this state to take care of the people who are voting them into that office."

Hewitt then sums it up:

The message is that governors do indeed matter a great deal in whether state economies grow or contract. High taxing/big spending governors kill jobs ... But the message of the DeVos campaign isn't copyrighted, and expect that it will appear in battleground states across the country. Jobs matter. Democratic governors kill them.

All very maddening, to be sure. But here's what really got me when I went to Hewitt's site: DeVos is all over that blog! On the main page, the top banner is a rotating 'DeVos for Governor' strip. On the page where this article appears, the top banner again stumps for DeVos, plus there are multi-media DeVos-placed ads on both the right and left sides.

DeVos has been playing it up in mainstream media for months and ads on the high-profile conservative blogs are a no-brainer, I guess. But it shows me two things: The man indeed has intentions far beyond the governor's seat here in Michigan. And big bucks can get you exposure and votes in the polls even (especially?) when your message is without substance. I have faith that the people in Michigan know better, but Granholm has to keep up the fight (she will). We can't be taken in by such stuff.

Vote Rinck for 'Michigan First' endorsement

2006-08-30T22:54:00.000-04:00

Michigan Liberal has put up it's slate for the "Michigan First" endorsement for candidates for the US House. There's a list of 8 Dems up against Republican incumbents and your vote for Jim Rinck (CD03 Grand Rapids) will ensure him plenty of free publicity on MichLib plus "bragging rights," not to mention a possible campaign contribution or two. Voting ends Sept. 5 at 5 p.m. So go to Michigan Liberal (start an account if you haven't already) and vote right now.

DDV volunteer employed by ...

2006-08-17T12:44:00.000-04:00

In my weekly news from the DeVos campaign, I see that this week's volunteer "hails from Ada." And I'll give you one guess where she works and has worked for years. Not that there's anything wrong with this, you understand. Just thought you'd like to know. And wonder along with me how much other campaign work, subtle and not-so-subtle, may be going on in those venerable halls.

Volunteer of the Week: Kate Vincent

This week's Volunteer of the Week hails from Ada

Kate has been an active and enthusiastic volunteer for the campaign for change since the end of March. Kate volunteers because she believes Michigan needs a change and that Dick will deliver change. "Dick has done so much for our community. Dick and his family have helped to resurrect the downtown area. He doesn't need this job. We need him," she said. Kate has not only volunteered every week, but has brought in new volunteers to help bring change to Michigan. Thank you, Kate, for your hard work. You are an asset to our campaign for change!

Remembering First Sgt. Aaron D. Jagger

2006-08-14T23:16:00.000-04:00

Michigan Liberal reported tonight that Army First Sgt. Aaron D. Jagger of Hillsdale has died in Iraq, one of three soldiers killed by a roadside bomb last Wednesday near Ar Ramadi. Here's my comment on the post:

Aaron was a student of mine
The first job I had out of college in 1977 was teaching in a tiny school in Hillsdale County called Camden-Frontier school.

I taught high school English and French back then and Aaron was one of my students. I remember him -- isn't that funny? All those years ago and I was only there two years ...

I remember Aaron's family was new to the area. I remember he struggled with French. I remember him coming to my place with a bunch of the kids for a French dinner I put on for them at the end of the year. He brought his guitar, which had a pick up so it was amplified like an electric one. He played really well.

In 1978 I was advisor for the junior class and he was instrumental in helping build our homecoming float. I remember it was some kind of mechanical dinosaur thing and it took first place. Aaron was "artsy" compared to the mostly farm kids who grew up around there, and he didn't seem to make a lot of friends right away. He was a nice, friendly, hard-working kid. I liked him.

I've often wondered what happened to my students from back then. I moved to East Lansing, then Grand Rapids and lost track of all of them. It's hard to believe they're in their 40s now -- to me they'll always be high schoolers trying to grow up.

I haven't thought about Aaron in all this time. Seeing this post then reading the article in the Hillsdale Daily made me sad. A wife and five daughters he leaves behind. Aaron and his family deserved better. Our young people deserve better. The people of this country deserve better.

GR Mayor Heartwell decries repeal of SBT

2006-08-13T10:45:00.000-04:00

GR Mayor George Heartwell weighed in against the repeal of the SBT in Saturday's Press, with these three points:

In an anti-tax environment, there are only three places to draw replacement revenues once the SBT is gone: revenue sharing with cities, education and the prison system. With corrections unlikely to be touched, the money will have to come from the cities, meaning less police and fire protection, etc., and from the schools. And we know what that means.
The SBT is used as a way to create tax credits toward redevelopment of brownfield sites. Grand Rapids alone has such projects in development to the tune of about $600 million. Brownfield redevelopment is a big job maker, but with no more SBT revenues, Heartwell said, "It's impossible to sell credits against these projects."
With the SBT gone and no clear-cut plan for replacing the revenue it generates, Michigan suddenly looks even more iffy as a place for businesses to set down roots. Indeed, right after the repeal vote, Standard & Poor issued a negative outlook rating for Michigan. Wrote Heartwell:

Instability is more threatening to business than is a known, though unpopular, tax. Businesses now considering relocating to Michigan will ask: What will replace SBT? Will it work for our business? Is it better or worse than what Indiana offers? As of today I can't answer those questions, so Indiana wins. We lose.

Gov. Granholm has called the repeal an "act of cowardice" and estimated it could cost every Michigan family another $800 in taxes if the SBT revenues are replaced, and as Heartwell also fears, by cutting state aid to cities and education. Repealing the SBT at this time was a political move by the state's republican leadership and backed by the DeVos campaign, nothing more. How discouragingly sad for the people of this great state.

Rinck wins primary

2006-08-09T09:07:00.000-04:00

The Gr Press reports today that GRPS school board member Jim Rinck won out over opponent Peter Hickey by 400 votes. Rinck goes on to face US 3rd District Congressman Vern Ehlers in November.

Given how the netroots helped Ned Lamont in CT, I think Rinck's been a little too quiet on the internet (I just recently found his website, in fact). I'm thinking he could use a few pointers, so I sent this email to his campaign this morning:

Hey, guys
Congratulations on Jim's win in the primary! Please put me on your enews list ...

I'm a progressive blogger based in the 3rd Congressional District. My blog, Coit Avenue is aggregated by Lefty Blogs and I'm somewhat active in the Michigan Liberal blogging community.

-snip-

Jim's website and blog are good looking sites. But can I make a couple of suggestions to help your netroots campaign? It would be great if you had forms on the site for volunteering, signing up for email, etc., rather than making people send an email. Most important, though -- the blog needs an RSS feed so people like me can track the daily goings on through our newsreaders, rather than having to remember to go to the site to see if anything's new.

As the campaign heats up heading into Nov., we bloggers can help. These are just a couple of things that will make it easier for us.

Thanks for listening

kathleen

The road ahead ain't going to be smooth running against a popular Republican incumbent, and Rinck needs to make it a little easier for those of us on the 'Net to help. Hope these small suggestions can make a difference.

Down on the farm with DeVos

2006-08-05T09:28:00.000-04:00

The people who selected and approved this image for dick's latest "TurnAround Plan" brochure ought to be relieved of their duties with the campaign. A photo of dick smiling at this calf like it's some kind of cute pet (but don't get too close!) speaks volumes about the man's agricultural expertise.

Last week my regular email from the DeVos campaign brought "The Michigan TurnAround Plan Volume Two: Agriculture. "Agriculture?" you're asking. "Where's the plan for health care? Education? (other than what's covered in Volume One: Jobs)?" I know. I said the same thing. But go with me here and I might be able to shed a little light.

Before I get started, let me say that I know agriculture is an important force in our state's economy, as evidenced in part by a story in last week's GR Press about dairyman Timothy den Dulk. Den Dulk heads up of one of the country's largest and most influential agribusiness empires (the Press's word), and it's based right here in West Michigan. In 1995, den Dulk moved his corporate offices to Ravenna Township from California and has grown a business that includes 60,000 cows in 11 states, a farming publication, two milk cooperatives with over $600 million in annual sales, part ownership in a bank and a stake in a political action committee that is "partial to Republicans," according to the Press report.

What could prompt a move from the nation's biggest dairy producing state to the state that's number 8 in milk production? (source: www.nass.usda.gov) Maybe this?

Industry officials who know him said den Dulk's move was driven by economics and family ties in West Michigan. Also, California has tightened environmental regulations on large livestock farms in recent years and farmland there also is becoming scarce and more expensive.

And this?

DEQ Director Chester said some dairy and pork farmers are building large factory farms in the Midwest because the region's environmental regulations are relatively weak and there is a lot of affordable farmland.

Then there's always this, to keep the business here:

The growth of den Dulk's agribusiness empire has been supported in part by government subsidies. Den Dulk was one of West Michigan's largest recipients of taxpayer-funded farm subsidies, receiving $820,363 in government subsidies between 1995 and 2004, according to federal data.

Yet dick's brochure makes this claim:

As I’ve traveled throughout the state, people tell me the same thing – Michigan has too many regulations, and taxes are too high. And they are right – our state government’s excessive regulations have hurt our agriculture industry and hindered the ability of producers and processors to stay competitive in the international marketplace.
-snip-
The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) operates in a way that is often harmful to farms and threatening to our agricultural industry. I will get the DEQ to work with Michigan’s agriculture businesses, and not against them. I know that we can protect the environment and grow Michigan’s agriculture industry at the same time ...

And one of the ways a DeVos administration will address this? (emphasis added)

Support pro-active, on farm, voluntary pollution prevention such as the Michigan Agriculture Environmental Assurance Program (MAEAP). My administration will provide incentive based, on-farm, technical assistance programs to ensure environmental stewardship. The top-down command and control regulatory approach currently used by the DEQ does not work for Michigan agriculture ...

Ok, so it's heavy on the posturing and light substance -- something we've come to expect from this campaign. But I'm still bothered by the question: Why an entire campaign treatise devoted to agriculture, published on the heels of his jobs plan, seemingly giving the topic at least secondary importance in the list of things dick plans to turn on around?

Yes, farming's big business in Michigan, but it doesn't even rate a mention in our state's Wikipedia entry alongside claims of our number 4 national ranking in high tech employment, number 3 in research & development investment and being the cradle of the domestic auto industry which claims to account for one of every 10 jobs in the U.S. Not to mention our booming life sciences sector and partnerships with two leading research institutions in MSU and the U of M. I think our Press article has the answer to this question, too:

Tim den Dulk contributed $3,550 to the 2004 congressional campaign of U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Holland. His wife, Marietta, contributed $10,000 in 2004 to GOPAC, the national Republican political action committee, making her one of that group's top 50 supporters nationally, according to federal campaign finance data compiled by the Center for Public Integrity.

The two milk cooperatives den Dulk founded, and the Fair Oaks Dairy he co-owns, have contributed $97,100 to federal political candidates running for office this year. All but $9,611 of those contributions went to Republican candidates, federal data shows.

And there you have it. Yet another big money interest that's intent on maintaining the big business status quo. That's what we'll get from dick at every turn if he manages to wrest away the governor's seat. After all, as he says, he is a businessman.

And businessmen have their priorities, don't they.

End our open-ended commitment in Iraq

2006-08-05T08:59:00.000-04:00

I co-signed this email from US Sen. Carl Levin's office yesterday and sent it on. You can too.

Subject: End our open-ended commitment in Iraq!

Dear President Bush,

While the world has been focused on the crisis in the Middle East, Iraq has exploded in violence. Some 6,000 Iraqis were killed in May and June, and sectarian and insurgent violence continues to claim American and Iraqi lives at an alarming rate. In the face of this onslaught, one can only conclude that the Baghdad security plan you announced five weeks ago is in great jeopardy.

Despite the latest evidence that your Administration lacks a coherent strategy to stabilize Iraq and achieve victory, there has been virtually no diplomatic effort to resolve sectarian differences, no regional effort to establish a broader security framework, and no attempt to revive a struggling reconstruction effort. Instead, we learned of your plans to redeploy an additional 5,000 U.S. troops into an urban war zone in Baghdad. Far from implementing a comprehensive "Strategy for Victory" as you promised months ago, your Administration's strategy appears to be one of trying to avoid defeat.

Meanwhile, U.S. troops and taxpayers continue to pay a high price as your Administration searches for a policy. Over 2,500 Americans have made the ultimate sacrifice and over 18,000 others have been wounded. The Iraq war has also strained our military and constrained our ability to deal with other challenges. Readiness levels for the Army are at lows not seen since Vietnam, as virtually no active Army non-deployed combat brigade is prepared to perform its wartime missions. American taxpayers have already contributed over $300 billion and each week we stay in Iraq adds nearly $3 billion more to our record budget deficit.

In the interests of American national security, our troops, and our taxpayers, the open-ended commitment in Iraq that you have embraced cannot and should not be sustained.

Rather, the Democratic leadership in Congress and I believe that it is time for Iraqis to step forward and take the lead for securing and governing their own country. This is the principle enshrined in the "United States Policy in Iraq Act" enacted last year. This law declares 2006 to be a year of "significant transition to full Iraqi sovereignty, with Iraqi security forces taking the lead for the security of a free and sovereign Iraq, thereby creating the conditions for the phased redeployment of United States forces from Iraq." Regrettably, your policy seems to be moving in the opposite direction.

This legislation made clear that Iraqi political leaders must be informed that American patience, blood and treasure are not unlimited. We were disappointed that you did not convey this message to Prime Minister Maliki during his recent visit. Reducing the U.S. footprint in Iraq will not only give the Iraqis a greater incentive to take the lead for the security of their own nation, but will also allow U.S. forces to be able to respond to contingencies affecting the security of the United States elsewhere in the world.

The Democratic Congressional leadership and I believe that a phased redeployment of U.S. forces from Iraq should begin before the end of 2006. U.S. forces in Iraq should transition to a more limited mission focused on counterterrorism, training and logistical support of Iraqi security forces, and force protection of U.S. personnel.

Additionally, every effort should be made to urge the Iraqis to take the steps necessary to achieve a broad-based and sustainable political settlement, including amending the constitution to achieve a fair sharing of power and resources. It is also essential to disarm the militias and ensure forces loyal to the national government. Finally, an international conference should be convened to persuade other governments to be more involved, and to secure the resources necessary to finance Iraq's reconstruction and rebuild its economy.

Mr. President, simply staying the course in Iraq is not working. We need to take a new direction. We believe these recommendations comprise an effective alternative to the current open-ended commitment which is not producing the progress in Iraq we would all like to see. Thank you for your careful consideration of these suggestions.

Update: Amazing Michigan

2006-08-04T08:09:00.000-04:00

Well, hello. I got a comment on my last post from Melanie of Hass MS&L, who sent me the original email about the new blog, Because Michigan is Amazing. It reads in part:

We've added an About Us page to the site to answer your questions and those of other bloggers about the sponsorship of the site, which are valid ones. We didn't mean to be secretive ...

Of course I checked this out right away (and I have to note here that the About Us link that yesterday was located waaaay at the bottom of the site has today moved up to a more prominent position under Cool Stuff in the right rail.) Tom Brzezina, a president at the Troy ad agency, Michael Flora & Associates and whose idea launched the new blog, explains:

... Michigan is Amazing is a response to all of the negative press and disheartening news about Michigan that's been so pervasive lately—it's meant to be an opposing voice.
-snip-
... this site is not a commercial venture. It's not part of a word-of-mouth campaign. And it's not an advertising vehicle. It's simply a valentine to Michigan.
-snip-
... BCBSM ... has no active role in the site, other than sponsorship. I should probably also mention that Michigan is Amazing has no affiliation with any government branch of the State of Michigan, any tourism group, or any other state organization.

Also included on the page are bios from the three agency folks at Hass MS&L who are jumpstarting the blog: editor Alicia Dorset and writers Melanie Seasons and Aaron Brzezina (any relation to Tom?)

I must say I'm impressed with Hass Ms&L for responding. And I'm glad Melanie dropped by to tell me and my readers about this addition to the blog.

Read other commentary about the new blog (excluding PR releases) here and here

Amazing Michigan? Not so fast

2006-08-01T16:32:00.000-04:00

Fellow MI bloggers, I assume you all got this email too:

Hi, Kathleen.

I'm writing from Hass MS&L Public Relations in Ann Arbor. We're trying to let people know about a new blog that launched today: Michigan is Amazing (michiganisamazing.com).

The purpose of Michigan is Amazing is to bring to everyone's attention all the great things about our state. While a creative agency will be supplying the content for the blog initially, it's the site's users that will become the content providers * and, through a ratings system, judge which stories are the best. The blog's categories are People, Places, Things, Events and Organizations. Users can use the blog to let everyone know about the things they think are special about Michigan using text, images or video.

All users who submit valid entries will receive a small gift, and all those who have posts published on the blog will win a free t-shirt. The best entry of each month will win the blogger an amazing Michigan-themed gift basket loaded with a variety of prizes.

We're trying to get the word out and we hope you'll let your readers know. Just for spreading the word we'd like to send you a small gift.

Thanks for your time. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Melanie Seasons

Word of mouth marketing, baby
So what's this all about? A google search on Hass MS&L turns up this from the Center for Media and Democracy's SourceWatch: "David Binkowski from Hass MS&L is scheduled to appear on a panel "How to Create Great Corporate Blogs That Get People Talking" at the Word of Mouth Marketing Association conference in Orlando, Florida, January 20, 2006"

Ah, so that's it -- a Great Corporate Blog that'll get us Michiganders talking. But when I checked out the new blog for a sign of a corporate presence, I found nothing, other than a "sponsored link" from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. And indeed, when I clicked on "Send Us Your Amazing Finds," then "click here to read the rules," I read this:

Contest Eligibility: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan does not determine the submissions posted to “Michigan is Amazing” or the winner of the monthly contest ...

The agency MS&L, which acquired Hass in 2002, has a lengthy list of health care clients (although I don't see BCBSM on the list right now). Looking at the news area of their site, their expertise seems to be in positioning Big Pharma in the face of all its litigation and regulatory issues. Digging further, I found that David Binkowski heads up Hass MS&L Blogworks and is a member of the Word of Mouth Marketing Association, where his page explains:

... Hass MS&L has successfully worked with global clients to launch corporate blogs and to deal with the issues they raise. And our marketing outreach practice connects influential consumers with new products and helps spread awareness through these new media.

A notable success for Blogworks is the much-praised FastLane Blog from GM chief Bob Lutz.

So what's the problem?
What's wrong with all of this? I work in marketing communications. I understand that you can hardly get a better product endorsement than one that's person-to-person, or word of mouth. And I'm a blogger -- don't I believe in the power of blogs to spread the word, rally people for causes, inform us on issues, etc., etc., etc.? Of course. Still, here's what grinds me about this pitch:

I'm asked to "spread the word" about a new blog that appears to have no real reason for being, no author, no sponsor, no voice -- and therefore not much reason to engage. (Content's kinda lame, too, but there is potential there, if people participate. It's about Michigan, afterall!)

Prizes for blogging? Even a gift to me for "spreading the word?" Please!

The initial complete and utter lack of transparency on the part of Melanie Seasons as to who is sponsoring the blog.

The initial complete and utter lack of transparency on the blog itself as to who is behind it.

Conversation goes two ways
Yeah, I know word of mouth marketing is the thing these days. But if markets are conversations as we read in Cluetrain, this one-way deal isn't the way to go about it. And it's certainly not what blogging is about. There needs to be an exchange going on here -- honest, open, no holds barred. And prizes and gifts don't count.

A word to BCBSM -- if you want to engage bloggers in a folksy, feel-good conversation about how great Michigan is, we'd be more than happy to talk, even spread the word. But take the mask off first. Be up front with us. If you don't, the words we spread likely won't be the ones you had in mind.

******************
SourceWatch had more on Hass MS&L: See the subhead Driving Bloggers Pro-War Coverage

Update: It occurred to me after reading Christine's comment (she didn't receive this email), that maybe Hass MS&L found me through my other blog, Things I've Seen. So I've cross-posted this entry there.

That's not quite how I remember it

2006-07-29T12:24:00.000-04:00

I got this in an email from the DeVos campaign the other day:

I've been a part of turnarounds before. When my hometown, Grand Rapids, was stagnating in the 1980s and 1990s I brought together a team of leaders and community members to help turn our city around. Now there are jobs, people are moving downtown.

Now I'm not native to Grand Rapids, but I have lived here about 22 years. Beginning in the late 60s, downtown GR was indeed stagnating, and the turnaround he's talking about began, I believe, in the 70s, when the DeVos and Van Andel families refurbished the old Pantlind Hotel downtown.

Well, Dick DeVos was probably barely 20 years old when this started, and though he is a member of one of the families that helped spearhead the building boom in GR, his father Rich and partner Jay really have been seen as the powers behind it. When this point came up earlier in the DeVos campaign, Rich, it seemed to me just kind of publicly shrugged his shoulders. Whatever will help get the son elected, so be it, is what it seems he was thinking.

When Alticor, the company I led for 10 years, was faced with competitive challenges and a new global reality, I transformed our business into a global powerhouse, insourcing work from other companies to fill our manufacturing lines and selling our own Michigan-made products all over the world.

This is another point where my memory and his diverge. If I remember correctly, Rich and Jay officially handed the reins over to the next generation in the early- to mid-90s. In 1996 the business tanked in the U.S., their primary market.

Between 1996 and the end of 1999, a lot happened: Dick left the business, Dave Van Andel took over as chief, then Doug DeVos and Steve Van Andel emerged as President and Chairman, respectively. Given this timetable, it doesn't seem to me that Dick DeVos could have been regarded as company chief for 10 years. Still, he carefully chooses to say "the company I led." And since as a family member he was part of the company's governing board at the time, I suppose he can use this phrase, however misleading.

Also during this time, "globalization" happened in waves, with the much-reported layoffs in U.S. operations and the opening of manufacturing in China. North America launched an internet business under a new name, which would soon replace the old business entirely (in name, if nothing else). Then, sometime after 2000, the company reorganized, with the parent company DeVos names above as the umbrella over the sister companies, one of which is the manufacturing component he's talking about. That part he got right. One of the smartest things the company has done over the last five or six years was to spin off its manufacturing division so it's no longer making products only for the distributor force, but using its vast R&D resources and manufacturing capacity to make private label home care and personal care products for other companies.

We can make change happen if we bring people together, set clear goals, and take action. I've been there, I've done it.

And so you can see why I'm not altogether sure he has a valid claim to make when he says "I've done it."

When he spoke on the Huge show a couple of weeks ago, DeVos expressed amazement at the number of people who weren't aware of his connection to what we know is his family's business. Seems to me that in this email and in his campaign he is taking advantage of that. And of people's short memories. That's why I wish I had some documentation on all of this that's better than my memory. It's the kind of thing that shouldn't go unrefuted.

Update: DeVos left the family company in 2002 according to MLM Survivor. I stand corrected.

Christine on liberal blogging, dick lingo

2006-07-21T12:31:00.000-04:00

A beautiful Friday afternoon and I should be working. (Actually, I should be at Meijer Gardens with my family, but if I want to take tomorrow off for a family reunion, I'd better get some work done today. Such is the life of a freelance writer.) Anyway, I had to take a minute to point you to two great posts from Christine.

Yesterday, she laid out 5 Roles for Liberal Bloggers that are worth putting on your tackboard:

Research, present, and analyze the facts
Rally the base
Whack a mole (go read the post)
Support each other
Support candidates and issues

"Support each other" really resonates with me. Christine, Cathleen, Kathy, Matt and Laura all have been supportive of this blog since it decided to get a little more political, with links to posts and linkups on blogrolls. In fact, I think it was one of them who put coit avenue on LeftyBlogs. All that support has encouraged me to keep blogging -- and to delve a bit more into issues and candidates than I have in the past. Though I don't come close to any of them in knowledge or analytical skill, I figure every little bit helps.

In another post yesterday, Christine cautions us to look for this boilerplate "dick language" in letters to the editor in suppport of DeVos:

“We need a leader who is not a career politician or a lawyer and who has signed the front of a paycheck, not just the back. “
“Dick is a proven business leader”
“Dick has pledged to end Michigan’s job-killing Single Business Tax”

The two newspaper examples she offers contain dick lingo, word for word. So she's encouraging people to get ahold of DeVos's boilerplate letters and "combat these Weapons of Mass Deception by writing some pre-emptive letters of your own."

I like that.

It's the university system, stupid

2006-07-17T08:01:00.000-04:00

Writing about Google's recent announcement to put an expansion site in Ann Arbor, GR Press business columnist Nancy Crawley says it's our university system that will continue to attract sought-after knowledge and technology companies to Michigan (emphasis mine):

In this success story, one lesson stands out. An excellent university was the key economic development tool. It was not taxes. Not roads and sewers. Not facilities. And certainly not the weather ... Higher education was the key.

Nice swipe at the DeVos campaign, Nancy. I wonder if she got the same email I did?

Tale of two campaigns

2006-07-15T08:49:00.000-04:00

On July 12, I got this email from the DeVos campaign (yes, I signed up to receive their emails. Just keeping tabs on things ... )

Hi, I'm Dick DeVos and thanks for joining me in our quest to become Michigan's new Governor. Change takes courage but that's one of Michigan's prime assets. We're ready for bold, courageous and profound change.

If you look at every economic index that matters, where we should be first, we're last or darn close to it. It's shocking to me that we're at the top of the national list when it comes to bankruptcies, foreclosures and bad and unsafe roads.

Michigan can do better, we must and we will. I can turn our state around. But I can't do it alone. Nor can I win this campaign against Governor Granholm without you.

I think it's interesting to see that while DeVos makes claims about Michigan being at the bottom of economic indices, he gives us no figures. Instead he cites forclosures, bad roads and bankruptcies as things we "excel" at.

In contrast, here's this message I got on the same day from Governor Granholm's Fight Back campaign:

Republicans like to use a lot of tricky rankings to portray gloom and doom scenarios for Michigan’s future. Governor Granholm knows that there is a lot of work to be done to get our economy back on track, but she has also made a lot of progress – including the Google decision this week to build a new headquarters in Michigan. We are now ranked among the best states to do business in from numerous non-partisan sources:

- #9 ranking for most competitive tax burden in the country according to Laffer Associates State Rankings
- #8 most competitive business climate and #4 in Corporate Facilities and Expansions according to Site Selection Magazine in 2005
- #2 in capital investment in the country according to Ernst & Young in 2005

Yeah, I know that both of these are what campaigning is all about. But in my book, DeVos continues to be elusive. I doubt, in spite of the "big disclosure coming up" referred to in the video that accompanies this email, that we'll get any clearer picture of his "plans" for Michigan.

Granholm for Guv: Go tell 'em why

2006-07-12T12:48:00.000-04:00

Over at the Granholm Campaign Blog they want our input:

For the final 100 days up to the Election (the countdown begins on July 29th), we will be featuring “100 Reasons to Vote for Jennifer Granholm and John Cherry,” written by Michigan voters like you, in your own words, on the front page of GranholmforGov.com.

Go on over and make your thoughts known. I already did.

Huge interview for DeVos

2006-07-10T18:34:00.000-04:00

Sports talk radio's Huge (Bill Simonson) spoke with gubernatorial candidate Dick DeVos during the Steve Smith Charity Challenge golf event here in GR today. Former Italian Ambassador Pete Secchia co-hosted the conversation. (Note: Don't ask me about the Huge-Secchia connection. I asked my husband to explain, but I still don't get it. Even so, the two can make for some entertaining listening.)

When I tuned in, they'd been talking for a few minutes already, and the subject was sports, of course. When Huge asked the candidate what was one thing he would have like to do in sports, DeVos answered "If I had the size, I would have loved to play college football." Then Secchia chimed in to tell us that younger bro Doug played quarterback at Perdue. And he listed off all the sports teams the DeVos family owns or has owned. Huge proclaimed the family to be "monster sports fans" and we got to hear Dick reminisce about family trips to Florida in the car, where all they could manage to pack in was a bat and an old beat-up ball ... the first thing he and his brothers would do when they arrived was play "pickle" on the beach with their dad (Rich DeVos, Amway co-founder) ... ah, the fond memories. I didn't know he was such a down-to-earth guy.

Secchia then felt compelled to contribute a mini-history of the success of DeVos-family business Amway, but Huge steered the topic back to sports. So I was surprised when he transitioned to the topic of RDV and Secchia receiving the Woodrow Wilson Award recently, where Rich stated during the ceremony that he was proud of his son for running for governor, which set up the very pointed question: "So why did you decide to take a shot at running for governor?"

Well, DeVos didn't say anything we haven't heard already, but it was funny to listen to him weave in the obligatory sports metaphors. Some paraphrase from the interview:

Huge: So why did you decide to take a shot at running for governor?

DeVos: I think I can make a difference, offer something worthwhile, make a contribution ... Let's get out there and make this state better. Michigan is struggling. I talk to people everyday who tell me their kids are leaving because they can't get a job here. It just breaks my heart to see that kids are leaving. I can't just sit on the sidelines. Put me in, coach. I've got the business background to apply to make this state a better place.

Huge: What's the first thing you'd do as governor?

DeVos: I'd get rid of this thing called the Single Business Tax ... It's a job killer. I want to put Michigan back on track with the rest of the country. We need a substitution in this game. You know how sometimes a game goes along and you need to pick up the tempo to win? We need a tempo change in this game.

Huge: What's the toughest thing you've faced so far in your campaign?

DeVos: It's a big state. Ten million people live here. Every day I'm going out there, shaking hands, talking to people. It takes a tremendous amount of dedication, but I'm out there every day. That's been my biggest challenge physically. But I'm in training for that, too. In business I got up and went to work every day.

It's been a thrill for me to get to know so many people. It has been an honor to be a candidate. We're very pleased with the results. A year ago everyone said, 'no way can you win,' and here today we're tied in the race. But we're definitely the underdog. But it's not about winning for me. It's about changing this state, bringing the kids home. That's what it's about for me.

Secchia: So you have all these people telling you they'll vote for you, but how do you know they'll go to the polls?

DeVos: That's always a good question. But when I have someone look me in the eye and say, 'I voted for the other team last time, but this time I'm supporting you,' I know they mean it. We've got to change this state. And we're not going to change it by putting the same team on the field.

People are resonating with the fact that it's time for a businessman to step up. I've got the background. I've created jobs. I know how to do business in international markets. I turned a company around ...

That was about it, except for a little banter among the three as Huge wound down the interview. Like I said, not much there. But fun for all the metaphor reaching!

From the DeVos blog: funny

2006-07-10T15:57:00.000-04:00

Saw this entry today on the DeVos campaign blog "Blog from the Trail." Well, I won't make you link to it -- here's the text:

Check this out from the Herald Palladium. It appears Michigan is a laughing stock. The fact that we weren’t even a consideration for the Honda plant isn’t a laughing matter. What are your thoughts?

And here's the cartoon that went with it:My thoughts? Yes, I get it, but it's a football joke ... lighten up a little! It is funny.
A couple of other observations about the blog:

A number of people contribute to it. This is good

Their posts seem to be very much PR edited. This is not so good. Such obvious "on-message" editing isn't the stuff of blogs. The commentary doesn't come off as real or credible.

Many of the posts consist of a statement followed by the question, "What are your thoughts?" Again, not so good. If you're trying to engage the blogosphere, let's see some meat here to respond to. But then again, that's probably not their point.

Checking DeVos ad claims

2006-07-07T07:49:00.000-04:00

I wrote this on June 19 but somehow never posted it.

In their fourth "Claim Check" on the Dick DeVos advertising campaign, Wood TV 8 reports on the recent TV spot, Unemployed (video, transcript):

... the claim is made that one job is lost in the state every ten minutes since Governor Grahholm took office. According to the DeVos campaign, that would add to to nearly 160,000 jobs.

The article goes on to point out Bureau of Labor Statistics press releases on DeVos's website that purportedly support the claim. Of course, if you actually read these, you'll see that they simply summarize state and regional unemployment percentages for the last three years. And that yes, Michigan (along with Alaska) tops the list among states, unemployment-wise.

Then TV 8 cites a different table on the BLS site, which shows a lower unemployment percentage for Michigan than the reports cited by DeVos -- with the numbers showing more like 82,000 jobs lost, a significant difference. The state GOP site has yet another calculation, and of course, Gov. Granholm uses a different figure and observes that however you slice it, "the job loss lies on the doorsteps of George W. Bush and John Engler," according to this article.

I resent the number crunching by the DeVos campaign -- turning a single digit percentage (which, though huge by unemployment standards still is a small number on its own) into a "jobs lost per minute" metric in an effort to make the problem seem more immediately threatening.

I give credit to TV8 for the effort here, even though the reporting seems to me to be less probing or thoughtful than it should be. It's always good to call somebody on their use/misuse of numbers and statistics. If there's anything I've learned in my years of writing marketing communications, it's that you can make numbers say just about anything you want.

"Blue Wave" Pere Marquette Beach

2006-07-05T22:04:00.000-04:00

I grew up about a mile from Muskegon's Pere Marquette Beach and I've always thought it was one of the best beaches anywhere. Seems the Clean Beaches Council agrees. As the Muskegon Chronicle reports, for the fifth year running now the council has certified the vast expanses of white sugar sand at PM as a Blue Wave beach. It's the only beach in Michigan that's certified, just one of two Great Lakes beaches so honored and one of just 46 national Blue Wave beaches, most of them in Florida. Get a glimpse of Michigan's "best kept secret" here.

On this Independence Day

2006-07-04T09:14:00.000-04:00

Update: I'd cross posted this entry to my diary on Michigan Liberal. Matt has now promoted it to the front page. Thanks, Matt!

Ever the procrastinating writer, I just finished this account of an experience I had on June 13. It's a reminder on this Independence Day that liberty and justice aren't just things to be fought for on a battlefield far away ...

I drove downtown to the church to get Meg and Susan's music so they'd have it for their choir tour to Seattle. (They thought they were to leave it there, but apparently not. They're leaving tomorrow, so I thought I'd better pick it up.) I was only going to be there a minute, so I parked in the no-parking zone alongside the Jefferson St. door. As I got out of the truck I saw a maybe middle-aged black couple walking across the parking lot toward the door. She was wheeling a pull-behind grocery cart full of what I guessed were bags of food and he carried several plastic grocery bags, also full. I went inside.

Quite a few people were there for a Tuesday at 3:30 p.m.: the greeter was an older woman I didn't recognize. She was sitting at the desk knitting. One of custodians and a woman named Helen were sitting across the hallway from the desk. The three of them were talking. I went up the short flight of stairs to the offices to find the music secretary, who had called me about the music folders yesterday. Also there were the interim pastor for mission and a couple of women I didn't recognize. The secretary showed me where the girls' folders were -- I had walked right past them -- and we chatted a minute about how much fun the kids are going to have in Seattle. Then I left.

As I headed toward the door, the black couple came in, the woman first. She was nicely dressed in a long printed navy rayon skirt with matching overblouse. He had on a polo, some nondescript-colored pants and sneakers. He might have been a little older than she; he was graying at the temples, but her pulled-back hair was still all-black. I was still smiling from my exchange with the secretary, and as I passed them I said, "Hi." We have many people from the Heartside neighborhood who come into the church -- for food, coffee, neighborhood meetings, whatever. Some are looking for handouts, some just come in to talk. But the door is always open during the day (hence the "greeter" at the desk). It's not that I'm so overly friendly, but I sometimes think they might feel uncomfortable or unwelcome, so I always try to at least say hello.

They both said hi to me as I walked past, then the woman stopped and turned. "Ma'am, can I ask you something?" she said. I turned around. "Now, I'm not trying to rob you or anything like that. We just picked up all this food from the pantry here, and our ride never showed up. Do you think you could give us a ride home? We live way up on Fuller and Adams and it's a long walk." She talked fast, like she wanted to get it all out before I had a chance to say anything, especially no.

I hesitated. "Where do you live?" She told me again. I said, "Did you see the truck I pulled up in? What a mess it is?" My little Ford Ranger truck has a seriously messed up front end and a smashed windshield. The passenger-side mirror is missing its glass and the rear taillight on that side consists of red paper taped over bare bulbs.

She had seen it. "I don't care. I'll ride in the back of that thing if I have to. We just can't walk all that way with all these groceries." I still was hesitating, trying to size things up. They always tell us at the church not to give things to the neighborhood people who ask -- there are agencies, including our own food pantry, to take care of them. And I have seen people panhandling there. Drunks sleeping it off on a bench in our atrium. Mentally ill people who blurt out inappropriate comments during the service. People who come to the door after-hours asking for food or "money to buy milk for my baby." Then the woman said, "Or, there's a bus coming by here, the Eastern bus. If you could just help us get on that bus, we'd be grateful."

"No, I can take you. There are jump seats behind the seats in the truck, if you want to sit back there. It's kind of cramped."

While she talked to me, the man stood off, not getting involved in the conversation, not hovering. He set himself completely apart from the scene, and he seemed to be looking for something else -- the restroom, a drinking fountain. Later it came out that he was leaving the asking to her -- they'd already been rebuffed twice that day and he figured a black woman was less threatening than a black man to anybody they might encounter. He's right, I'm sure, even though the two of them looked anything but menacing. Now when she turned to him and said, "She's gonna take us," he lit up and a big smile crossed his face. I think the two of them said thank you more than once as they pushed the cart back out the door. But I don't really remember. I was thinking, "Well, I guess I'm doing this."

I also remembered how Meg was waiting on the other side of town for me to pick her up after a haircut. I had already warned my husband that I might not be back in time to get her, just because of the distance and possible traffic. Now he'd have to pick her up for sure. At least she'd have a ride.

We loaded the groceries into the bed of the truck. Then I shoved the front passenger seat forward so the woman could climb in the back. After she was settled in, the man settled into the front seat. I went around to the driver's side, got in, started the engine. "Where are we going?" I asked, because I am directionally challenged. Especially in the part of town we were going to. He directed me out of the parking lot and on my way. And the two of them started in to talking.

Oh my gosh, did they talk. I learned they were husband and wife (which I had figured by now) and they had come to Grand Rapids recently from Flint to take care of his aunt, who had throat cancer. I learned they had just moved to the apartment complex on Adams St. (apparently subsidized housing, which I had never even heard of) from the Dwelling Place downtown, and how it was that they were at our food pantry even though they lived so far away: They were allowed this one last trip here, then they had to start frequenting another place.

As we drove toward the southeast part of town, I heard all about their 8-year old grandson, "Poo-Poo" who was coming soon to live with them again. Poo-Poo, or Marcus, was born to their son and his girlfriend when he was 15, she 14, and as the baby's grandparents, they had pretty much raised him. Further, I found out that this son and an older one are currently in prison. Marcus's father in particular is incredibly gifted musically and athletically.

I slid a comment in about my own son who has had a few run-ins with the law himself. We talked about how it doesn't matter how well you raise your kids -- they sometimes just make bad choices. And they have to live with them.

All of this was matter-of-fact, bubbling talk from both of them. They talked to me so eagerly, interrupting each other good naturedly and constantly finishing one another's thoughts and sentences. "Listen to us talking so much," he said at one point, laughing. "We just don't get out and see anybody," she added. "There's nobody to talk to!"

I drove maybe eight or 10 miles while they talked and laughed -- they even joked about what most would call misfortune. The subject turned to their experience that afternoon. She told me how they'd been snubbed by a man outside the church when she approached him for help. Another man told her, "I don't help 'you people.'"

"I mean, " she said to me, "how can you judge us by our skin color? You don't know who I am, where I came from. I am someone just like you."

He told how the woman at the state welfare agency put off meeting with them on food stamps for the entire 45 days allowed by law. She scheduled a meeting with them on the 45th day. "It just doesn't make sense," he said. The state has to back-pay all the food stamps from the time of their application, "so why the delay?" he asked.

They told me they're living on $97 a month right now while they're waiting for his Social Security to come through, I assume because of their moving to another city. "But you just have to go with it," he said, shrugging.

By now we'd arrived at the Adams St. complex. I drove to the front, where an elderly black man sitting outside in a wheelchair watched, obviously curious as I helped them unload their groceries. Then my passengers thanked me and shook my hand, first him, then her.

As they were leaving, she stooped to scratch her shin at the hem of her skirt. "I've got such allergies," she laughed and she showed me the rash on her lower leg. She asked if I had a dollar so she could buy a packet of Tylenol from the machine inside. I reached inside the truck and rummaged in my wallet, giving her the only bill I had -- a five. She hugged me and shook my hand again. "Now I can get a couple of Diet Cokes, too," she said. Her smile was broad. "Bless you."

I said goodbye, climbed in the truck and drove off. We never even exchanged names.

Tiger pitcher blogging

2006-07-03T12:26:00.000-04:00

Nate Robertson of the Big League Chew rally recently started a blog. Gum Time seems to be the only "official" Tiger player blog, that is, it's the only one of its kind on the MLB website.

Only one post so far: "How Gum Time Started" features lots of photos accompanying the now- legendary story of how Nate's chewing got a rally going a few weeks ago when the Yankees had 'em down 5-0 in the third. (They rallied for sure, but still lost the game.)

Well the BLC rally has been a media splash and now Nate's got a blog. Don't know if he's got a ghost writer or not, but it'll be interesting to see if this keeps up. Go Tigers!

The GRP's new face online

2006-07-03T07:29:00.000-04:00

Update: Looking around the site today I notice a couple of things for correction/addition: The RSS feeds right now are only for the blogs [:( ]. But the Press does offer a listing of local blogs. And MLive is asking for students to blog for them.

Wow! I'm impressed.

Last month sometime when I wasn't paying attention, the Press upgraded its online presence. Yeah, it's still part of the mostly miserable MLive collection, and content still isn't much more current than in the printed paper, but it looks a whole lot better and it's easier to use. And it's added new features.

After the new look, (MUCH cleaner -- good job!), most notable among these is the addition of RSS feeds to the site (although I still don't find evidence of RSS on the homepage). I've sent at least two emails to the Press over the last couple of years asking for this and finally they've caught up with the times! Thanks. Now I don't have to go searching every day to see if there's something I want to read.

The other feature they've added is blogs (yay). These are written by Press folks we all know of like Kyla King, John Serba, John Gonzalez. So far the blogs look kinda like their usual reporting, that is, the tone isn't quite personal and the content's not too far outside what's in the paper. But they're openly asking readers for feedback to spark the discussion, so I think they'll get the hang of things.

My question for reporter-bloggers is always, "How much does this add to your regular workload?" I can't help but think it's an added assignment that might not necessarily be appreciated, but who knows? After all, blogs, if they're doing their job, are a foray into the "wisdom of the crowd," reaching out and tapping the collective knowledge and intelligence of the community. Seems like a pretty big job for folks who already work full-time. But maybe the Press will get all the way into this blog thing by reaching out to community bloggers for content, too. Then we can get some really good conversations going!

Anyhow, good job, GR Press!

Delphi's new work force

2006-06-30T12:37:00.000-04:00

The Freep reported on Wednesday that Delphi has hired more than 2,000 temps to replace some of the 12,600 hourly workers who have taken buyouts or accepted transfers to GM.

"Paying them half as much with no benefits," grumbled my husband when I mentioned it. He's a longtime hourly worker and former committeeman with UAW Local 113 in Muskegon. As you might imagine, he's seen his earning power do nothing but plummet since he started working in manufacturing in the late 70s.

He's right, too, although when companies cut costs by hiring temps, it's not news -- it's just a damn shame. "Just another way of stickin' it to the working man," he says.

Fight Back! campaign

2006-06-28T08:50:00.000-04:00

Better late than never on this, I guess. The Granholm campaign launched its new "Fight Back" website on Tuesday. An Action Alert is rounding up volunteers to show Granholm support at July 4th parades around the state. There's also a campaign blog. In an email announcing the site, Lt. Gov. John Cherry writes:

In the next four years, we can work to grow our economy and put Michigan first, or we can go back to the policies that failed this state the trade policies that shipped hundreds of thousands of our jobs overseas and the fiscal policies that turned a billion dollar surplus into $4 billion in deficits.

Everyday, Governor Granholm is fighting back for Michigan businesses and Michigan workers, against those who support the failed policies of the past. We need to fight back with her and make sure that she stays in office for four more years.

Levin admendment defeated

2006-06-22T17:10:00.000-04:00

As predicted, Sen. Levin and Sen. Reed's proposal to begin troop redeployment from Iraq by year's end was voted down in the Senate today, 60-39. From an email sent by Sen. Levin today:

Although our amendment was defeated today 60-39, I am pleased that 39 Senators united behind a policy that would have changed the Bush Administration's current open-ended commitment of U.S. forces in Iraq. And I am disappointed that all but one Republican Senator lined up in lock step to oppose our amendment and rubber-stamp the Bush Administration's policy.

This is all completely beyond my understanding. I continue to be amazed that this war goes on -- with not the slightest move in sight to get our people out of there. "We have to finish what we started," is what we keep hearing from the Bush administration. Nevermind that "what we started" was purportedly for completely different reasons than the reasons given now. Not to mention that the President's statement that the future of our forces in Iraq “will be decided by future Presidents" cements a commitment that is downright scary.

From Sen. Levin's comments on the amendment:

Beginning the phased redeployment of American troops in 2006 would send a very clear message to the Iraqis: ... You, the Iraqis, must now decide whether you want a civil war or a nation.

Sending that message to the Iraqis and ending the open-ended U.S. policy towards Iraq will prod the Iraqis to take the necessary steps to end the dominance of the militias; will reduce the Iraqi dependence on the U.S. security blanket which deters tough choices by the Iraqis; will change the perception that we are permanently occupying Iraq, a perception which plays into the hands of terrorists; will reduce the number of U.S. targets for terrorists and insurgents; and will reduce the strain on U.S. forces.

Supporters of our amendment are just as determined to maximize prospects for success in Iraq as are the opponents of our amendment. We do not accuse opponents of our amendment of wanting failure or of advocating surrender to chaos and terror. We do believe that maintaining the status quo and the open-ended commitment, which is the hallmark of that status quo and that open-ended commitment, and adhering to a bumper sticker slogan of “stay the course'’ is a recipe for continuing instability and failure.

Read Sen. Levin's entire commentary on the admendment here.

Granholm TV campaign begins

2006-06-10T09:26:00.000-04:00

Her challenger started in February with TV spots that purportedly cost millions. (I figure all that time just generates "more rope to hang him with," so to speak).

Now the Gov. takes to the airwaves with her own campaign. According to the Press article:

The ad touts a Granholm administration policy that favors the purchase of Michigan goods and services in the running of state government.
"It's time to stand up and fight," says the ad, which proclaims that "we have the best businesses and workers on the planet. Who can they count on? With Jennifer Granholm, Michigan comes first."

See the campaign online here (Real Player only; not for us Mac users ... :-( ... )

Michigan Ad Network

2006-06-04T15:28:00.000-04:00

Just established! The Michigan Ad Network is your source for advertising on progressive blogs across the state. Our audience includes everyone from political power brokers to grassroots activists.

The Network is set up through Blogads and of course, this blog is a member, along with four others:
Michigan Liberal
DetroitWonk
for my amusement only
Stone Soup Musings

Do your part to advance progressive politics in Michigan. Advertise with one of us by clicking on the Michigan Ad Network logo over there on the right. Thanks in advance!

G4G '06

2006-05-28T08:08:00.000-04:00

Ordered bumper stickers and a T-shirt off the Granholm for Governor website. Got yours yet?

DeVos on health care

2006-05-22T00:03:00.000-04:00

Sunday's GR Press had this little bit in the Polpourri column (Sorry, the online Polpourri hasn't been updated since May 14.) Excerpted:

Doctor disagrees with DeVos Rx -- When it comes to curing Michigan's health-care ills, Republican candidate Dick DeVos has the wrong prescription. That's the diagnosis of Dr. Paul Farr, a Grand Rapids gastroenterologist and president of the Michigan State Medical Society. Farr introduced DeVos at the Medical Society's leadership summit in Lansing last week. There, DeVos advanced the idea that the best solution to the health-care crisis is for more people to get jobs ...(emphasis mine)

Farr went on to point out: "The model of employment being the only model of health care insurance is really not working ..."

It discourages me to see a candidate portrayed as thinking so shallowly when we need vision, imagination and courage to push for creative solutions that go beyond the traditional health insurance model. So I checked out DeVos's blog to see if there was evidence of any more in-depth thought on this.

In a word, um ... no.

From DeVos's blog (Excerpts. emphasis mine; comments in italics):

Health care costs are hurting Michigan families and handcuffing Michigan job makers ... Michigan needs a change. Here are just a few things Dick DeVos will do to get Michigan back on track: (Gotta get that "job maker" theme in there ...)

Create a 21st century health care system

The time for new technologies in health care has arrived. The resources are in place to create a streamlined, technology-driven health care system. This system will make medical records more efficient, reduce hospital errors, and provide Michigan citizens with the tools to better manage their own health care. (Uh oh, watch out for this "managing our own health care" bit. It's the new code for fewer choices, less flexibility, more costs passed on to consumers.)

Improve access to healthcare and make it more affordable

Dick will work to reign in the cost of health insurance for working families and job providers. The more that individuals are empowered, and medical professionals are empowered, the better our health care system will be. (I think it's "rein," Dick. A little freudian slip here?)

Our legal system is a substantial part of the problem. We are going to have to reign in law suit abuse in Michigan. (Uh, maybe this is part of the cost problem, but does it relate to access? Oh, and there's that "reign" word again. Copy editor, please?)

Reform Medicaid and its sluggish bureaucracy

It is clear that Michigan's current Medicaid system desperately needs reform. Today's Medicaid is no longer providing the poorest and neediest with the coverage they need. Dick's reforms will help the needy, not the greedy. Dick will provide more accountability and oversight to a system that spends much of its money on fraud, waste, and inefficiency. (Groan ... I can hear that sound bite echoing across the state now ...)

These are excerpts, but they're pretty indicative of overall "substance." So far sound bites and empty rhetoric seem to be all we're getting from Mr. DeVos.

More "Diaries ..."

2006-05-19T21:10:00.000-04:00

The Governor returned home yesterday after what sounds like a pretty productive trip to Japan focussed on bringing more jobs to our state. From Thursday's diary/blog:

At the end of my journey, I feel enthusiastic and optimistic about the future of Michigan. I’m so pleased by the jobs we’ve been able to bring back from this trip! I am pleased to tell you that we have commitments for more than 400 new jobs and over $84 million in investment from 12 companies.

Good stuff to go along with the other initiatives the Gov's got going on, like:

Maybe I'm not paying close enough attention to her opponent (I have a hard time listening to him after surviving his reign when I worked for the family company), but all I've heard so far is his ill-considered johnny-one-note rant against the SBT ...

You go, Gov.

The Granholm Diaries

2006-05-18T23:02:00.000-04:00

Our Gov. is in Japan this week meeting with Japanese companies and getting commitments from them to bring jobs to Michigan. Here's an excerpt from her diary/blog on Tuesday:

I’m pleased that we nailed down four commitments to expand and grow in Michigan. Those commitments will bring 151 jobs to communities across the state over the next year.

* Konica Minolta recently bought American Litho in Grand Rapids. Today, they committed to an additional expansion. Among its many products, Konica Minolta produces medical imaging equipment – a natural fit for our life sciences corridor. (emphasis added)

* Meiden America, which already has a sales office in Novi, is planning to build a new facility which will employ 50 people.

* Shikoku Cable Company will expand their Novi operation, adding two more jobs.

* Taichi-S, an automotive seating manufacturer, will expand their Farmington Hills engineering facility to add 20 jobs.

These projects, which are expected to bring almost $34 million in investment, are great news for our communities.

Good work, Governor -- keep it up! Your enthusiasm is inspiring and contagious.

Love the blog, too. What a great way to remind us that we've got a say -- and that we all can be part of the effort!

Weekend links

2006-04-23T08:54:00.000-04:00

Lawmakers, rights panel pushed to require contraceptive coverage
As much as it angered me to work for a "religious" company that covered viagra but not my ortho novum, I don't know about this. I can't say that it's right to mandate what a company should and should not pay for in prescription coverage.

Neil Young's LIVING WITH WAR: 'It may just be the Fahrenheit 9/11 of rock' Also, I read here that the CD will be available for free listening online at Young's site starting April 28.

Patriotism is Truth, Today as in Vietnam At last John Kerry speaks.

Global warming hitting home -- and the future looks warmer yet This from my home town Muskegon. I remember ice skating on Muskegon Lake. I wonder how long it's been since kids have done that?

Drivers Pawning Posessions For Gas Money Jeez, there's an idea to tide me over till I get that next freelance check. I paid $2.95 last week ...

Now I'm a lefty, too

2006-04-12T13:50:00.000-04:00

Back in February I posted that this was now an "official" MI/Lib Dem blog, after Michigan Liberal listed me on their blogroll.

Well, now I see someone's added me to the Michigan blogroll on leftyblogs, too. For which I say, "Hey, thanks!"

See, I didn't even try to submit Coit Avenue to what I thought were lefty's pretty stringent standards. You have to post mostly about state and local politics. You have to post "original" content. And they "reserve the right to accept or reject any submission." Sheesh -- harsh! Besides, I thought, why bother when there are so many bloggers around the state who are more thoughtful, on-topic, and prolific than I am?

But now, thanks to someone, this blog is being scanned daily along with all the others -- 39 in Michigan and 1444 nationwide, as of today.

Which means I'd better quit slacking and get posting. We got a gubernatorial race goin' on here!

Chomsky interviewed on Democracy Now

2006-04-04T09:55:00.000-04:00

Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! has a fantastic two-part interview with linguist and political analyst Noam Chomsky. He's talking about his new book, Failed States: The Abuse of Power and Assault on Democracy. The podcasts from Friday and Monday are available at iTunes.

Weekend links

2006-04-02T13:10:00.000-04:00

Profit jumps don't = worker's paradise
Corporations are posting record profits so why aren't we all celebrating in the streets?

In wealth, DeVos runs in 1st place - He'd make a rich governor With estimates of his net worth starting at around $500 mil, he's one rich sonny-boy.

Analysts surprised Delphi would close profitable Coopersville plant That's 40% of Coopersville's jobs.

FBI Keeps Watch on Activists Because those folks feeding vegetarian meals to the homeless just might be terrorists, ya know.

Rinck to run for Congress

2006-03-27T18:43:00.000-05:00

His dad Dick announced it Thursday night at choir rehearsal and the Press reported it on Saturday: Attorney and GR School Board member Jim Rinck is making a run for Congress. Vern Ehlers, the popular six-term republican who now holds Michigan's Third District seat, hasn't yet announced if he'll run.

Even though I've lived in a suburban school district for 10 years now, I never quit following GR Schools politics. I've always admired the outspoken Rinck for his ability to stir things that need stirring and his willingness to push for change. Said Rinck to the Press:

"I think the Democrats need to make this race more competitive and know I can do the job."

I think he can, too. Good luck to you, Jim.

Weekend links

2006-03-13T12:10:00.000-05:00

Minimum wage petition drive continues. The Senate passed a minimum wage hike last Thursday (the House has yet to approve it), but Michigan's Democratic Party Chair Mark Brewer urges the signature gathering to continue.

Michigan's Billionaires Forbes released its annual list. The Michigan Eight: Davidson, DeVos, Penske, Stryker, Stryker, Pulte, Taubman, Ford.

Finally, speaking of DeVoses: Grand Rapids Company Launches Community Film Site It's the brainchild of the billionaire's grandson (and candidate's son), Rick. Looks kinda cool.

On impeaching the "emperor"

2006-03-11T09:39:00.000-05:00

In his article last week for the Chicago Tribune, What To Do When the Emperor Has No Clothes, Garrison Keillor calls for impeachment in that way he has of humorously expressing the dead serious. Via Common Dreams:

These are troubling times for all of us who love this country, as surely we all do, even the satirists. You may poke fun at your mother, but if she is belittled by others it burns your bacon. A blowhard French journalist writes a book about America that is full of arrogant stupidity, and you want to let the air out of him and mail him home flat. And then you read the paper and realize the country is led by a man who isn't paying attention, and you hope that somebody will poke him. Or put a sign on his desk that says, "Try much harder."

It's pretty clear by now that nobody's going to suggest that to the man, and I don't think he's listening anyway. Yet he's been parading naked in front of the entire world for more than four years now. I understand less and less everyday how anyone, especially the President, can continue to hold this hard line on the Iraq war and the dubiously named "war on terror" he's so fond of invoking whenever the "yeah, buts" start to build a bit of momentum.

Keillor's call is one I'm hearing more lately.

The U.S. Constitution provides a simple, ultimate way to hold him to account for war crimes and the failure to attend to the country's defense. Impeach him and let the Senate hear the evidence.

It's past time.

Weekend links

2006-03-05T22:29:00.001-05:00

Why Jon Stewart Isn't Funny Fine-minded young progressive thinkers aren't going into politics because watching Stewart has unmasked the "buffoons and idiots," making potential politicians think they're above all that. Gimme a break.

State workers have a lot to learn, execs say
A WMU survey of technology executives says that developing a highly educated work force is more important than tax cuts in making a state attractive to high tech firms. So repealing Michigan's SBT's the answer??

A Nurse's Courage
Amy Goodman interviews a New Mexico VA nurse whose letter to the editor criticizing the President resulted in her being investigated for sedition. Scary.

Fennville teachers to get bonuses if students improve on MEAPs
"Teachers see this as a sign that the school board doesn't really get it" ... Even more pressure to teach-to-the-test leaves creative and critical thinking to take a back seat, IMHO.

Michigan Needs a Raise Campaign

2006-03-02T16:52:00.000-05:00

Media Mouse pointed yesterday to ACORN's new website for the Michigan Needs a Raise Coalition's campaign to raise Michigan's minimum wage to $6.85/hr. With Congress having failed to pass legislation in March to raise the minimum wage and Michigan's state house refusing to vote on a bill this past summer that would have done so, ACORN and the MNR Coalition are now in the process of gathering the 350,000 signatures needed (by mid-June) to put the measure on the Nov. 6 ballot.

Facts from the website:

A minimum-wage worker makes $5.15/hour, or $10,712/year before taxes.
The $5.15 federal minimum wage has stood for nine (9) years.
40% of minimum-wage workers are their family's sole breadwinner.
70% of minimum-wage workers are adults.
464,000 Michigan workers make less than $7.15/hr.

Check out the website. The blog is here.

On the DP's "lack of vision"

2006-03-02T12:37:00.000-05:00

Food for thought in this post on AlterNet's Echo Chamber blog yesterday. AlterNet staff writer Joshua Holland talks about the Dems' seeming inability to put forward a unified and focused message:

Dems have been beaten up for years at the ballot, while scoring well on the issues that matter most to Americans in poll after poll. It's traumatized many of them; they're terrified of losing those last blue islands in the bright red electoral map, and that's led too many of them to take a much more tentative approach to politics than those of us in the grass-roots are looking for.

Still, that simplifies the conflict, he says. The real problem is more tactical:

Do you stand up for a set of progressive values and passionately oppose the right's agenda -- and let the chips fall where they may -- or do you "triangulate," and come up with ways to peel off those lower-income red-state voters?

It is the latter approach that has prevailed, and it's left Americans unsure of just for what Democrats, and progressives, really stand.

Holland notes this is changing, though, as grassroots organizations like MoveOn and Democracy for America begin put money behind progressive candidates in places like Texas and Connecticut. This will eventually be positive for the Democratic party as a whole, he says.
Support for progressive ideas will be more important than ever if, as is being projected, Dems make gains in the 2006 and 2008 elections.

They're going to be stuck with a huge deficit, they're going to need to extract us from Iraq and figure out how to inject some commonsense into the War on Terrrr [sic] and they're going to have to look hard at an economy with a middle class that's disappearing into the smoke and mirrors of globalism. How will they cope with those issues if they don't have a coherent governing philosophy?

The DP is going to need that "progressive vision" or they'll be beaten again by "a right that knows for what it supposedly stands."

Gov Jen on the Diane Rehm Show

2006-02-28T11:54:00.000-05:00

Governor Jennifer Granholm did a great interview on the Diane Rehm Show today. So positive, so upbeat, so excited about strategies for moving Michigan forward out of these difficult times, where there've been 300,000 jobs lost since 2001 and unemployment is at 6.7% (national average about 5%).

She talked about the state's plans to attract more business in health sciences and alternative energy, among others, and about the law she's about to sign requiring more stringent high school graduation requirements. She spoke of a training initiative with the state's community colleges that will help displaced workers train for jobs that already exist in the state's economy.

She also made it clear that the Feds need to lend a hand to the flailing auto industry -- not bail it out, ala Chrysler back in the 80s -- with more favorable policies in foreign trade, pensions and health care.

If you didn't hear it this morning, give a listen here.

Update: I've now posted this entry as a diary on Michigan Liberal.

Someone's checking me out

2006-02-28T10:05:00.000-05:00

It's so interesting to look at site stats (and so easy when you don't attract all that much traffic).

For instance, yesterday I was looking at my stats for my other blog and I noticed the visitor at right. "Hmm," I thought, "unknown domain, unknown organization, unknown country ... looks like they don't want to be tracked."

Ok, sometimes I'm paranoid.

Then I checked out the term this person searched in Yahoo: "kathleen vandervelde." And my paranoia meter went sky high.

So I decided to check the stats on this blog. Lo and behold, I see this:

Again, unknown domain, unknown organization. This time the search term was "devos," searched through Google Blog Search. Could be two different people, right? But look at the similarities in these two searches:

Same IP address
Searches made only minutes apart (devos first, then just a few minutes later, kathleen vandervelde)
Both searches from a Macintosh with OSX

I don't know, of course, who is checking me out, but I have my ideas. (The OSX clue does kinda narrow things down. Very few visitors to either blog are on a Mac and I pretty much know who they are.)

Like I said, it's interesting. I'll be keeping my eye on this, you bet!

Weekend links

2006-02-27T13:18:00.000-05:00

Catching up on some weekend reading:

Talking points on the federal abortion ban The language used by ultra-conservatives in this debate frames the debate. If you truly want meaningful discussion, don't use that language.

Fred Phelps is the salt of the earth ...
Niceness is no substitute for policy (or strategy).

Sicko "Marriage Contract" One For The Ages
"You will wear only thigh-highs & garters, and only thong panties ..."

Presumptuous Dick
Rick DeVos has reserved some pretty hopeful domain names for Dad.

Building the Internet Toll Road
"... major U.S. phone companies ... want to be able to give priority treatment to those who pay to get through faster."

Welcome, visitors/welcome visitors?

2006-02-24T08:02:00.000-05:00

Wow, looky who's visiting Michigan Liberal with seven hits yesterday alone! Gosh, I only get three or four visits from them to my two blogs. Every day.

Could be just a few old friends who are keeping up with what I'm doing ... who knows?

(Check out the occurrence of the 167 IP address)

It's official: This is a MI/Lib Dem Blog

2006-02-20T17:45:00.000-05:00

I've been seeing hits here lately from the Michigan Liberal blog's stats counter, as well as from the site itself. When I finally got around to checking this out (Hey, starting a freelance writing biz is time-consuming!), I see that they added me to their list of Michigan/Liberal Democratic blogs. Woo hoo! And I didn't even ask 'em.

Trouble is, now that I'm "official," I kinda feel obligated to post more often, more political. Which actually shouldn't be too difficult: the governor's race hoo-ha alone will likely offer up enough fodder to keep any number of blogs smokin'.

Anyway, to the guys and gals at Michigan Liberal -- thanks for linkin' me up!

Have you seen ...?

2006-02-18T12:51:00.000-05:00

The first of Dick DeVos's TV spots in his bid for guv is already airing. Saw it last night during the Olympics. First read about it here.

Bye, Betty

2006-02-04T21:41:00.000-05:00

Betty Friedan died today on her 85th birthday. I saw the women's movement pioneer and author of The Feminine Mystique speak here at Fountain Street Church sometime in the 80s. I remember it was standing-room only. I remember the general consensus afterward seemed to be that she was "over" the feminist movement and it was over her.

I read The Feminine Mystique, of course. My mother did not and I'm sure my teenaged daughters never will. Women have gained much since the 1963 best-seller was written, but we've lost some too. I can only shake my head (and bite my tongue) when my mother says to my daughters, "Your mother is a feminist, but I'm not." And they agree, saying they are not feminists, either.

Democracy Now podcast

2006-01-31T16:06:00.000-05:00

Fascinating conversation with musician, actor and longtime activist Harry Belafonte yesterday (1/30/06) from Democracy Now. (Podcast available through iTunes)

What's up, Google?

2006-01-29T15:58:00.000-05:00

I feel like my little bow to Google on Things I've Seen is somewhat out of order with their recent bending over to the Chinese government and its censorship policy. Right on the heels of applauding the search engine company for its refusal to provide the U.S. government with requested search results, people now are talking about boycotting Google and generally taking the company to task for what they see as a reneging on its mission, “don’t do evil.”

Blogger and Global Voices Online cofounder Rebecca MacKinnon writes in a recent post that Google representatives “have been making much of the fact that Google.com will remain available to users inside China.” But she also notes that “if it becomes completely unavailable, and Google does not try to fight government moves to block Google.com, they will have gone several more steps in buttressing the Chinese Firewall.”

I have to believe Google won’t let things go this far, and search guru John Batelle’s entreaty to the company probably sums up a lot of people’s thoughts:

There's still time to pull out, guys. I've read your rationalizations … and … I don't buy them. I don't buy that this is what, in your heart, you believe is right. Sure, I understand the logic. But, well....in your heart, is this what you wanted to do? No? Then why did you do it?

As MacKinnon says, "It will be interesting to see how things evolve over the coming weeks."

Update: GR blogger Murdoc points to some great Google logos created in response to the Chinese debacle.

On getting what you pay for

2006-01-28T11:17:00.000-05:00

So, back when I first became unemployed and I was (just a little ) panicky, I signed up with Guru.com, a site that bills itself as "the world's largest online marketplace for freelance talent."

It works basically like this: Employers post project specifications and freelancers enter their skills and interests into the site's database. The site posts projects to job boards and catalogs the information, cross referencing project requirements with freelancer qualifications and sending out notifications on any matchups (on which freelancers may then bid).The site offers both paid and free memberships, Guru takes a percentage cut of any payments to freelancers (5% for paying members; 10% for nonpayers) and payments for work completed are handled through an escrow account.

Sounds like a no-brainer, right? But here's the rub: "Plumb" projects seem available only to paying members; in fact, free-ride members can't even bid on a good number of the projects listed on the boards. Needless to say, as a non-paying member, I've found zilch that could bring any appreciable income into my personal bankbook.

Which brings me to the notification I received in a recent email:

Dear Kathleen: Within the last 24 hours, employers posted one or more projects that match your profile(s).
Profile ID: ...
Project ID: ...
Title: Wedding Ceremonies
Category: Writing / Editing / Translation
Description:
Need interesting wedding ceremonies. (see attached for samples of good ceremonies.)

Hmmm. Could be fun. After listing a typical outline for a wedding ceremony, the description goes on:

All Rights to all ceremonies submitted and accepted will be owned by us to utilize as we wish; it will be a work for hire.
You can see some ceremonies there and there are a ton of ceremonies on the web you can review (I have reviewed many many many of them)
I want ORIGINAL ceremony scripts, not something copied off other sites. I have seen most of those.

OK, it's getting a little off-putting, but still has some potential ... maybe. So I go to the Guru site to find out more. Hmmm. They want 10 three-page ceremonies, each "very different" from the other, using different styles and tones. Still do-able, I think. I download a couple of the samples and read through them. No literary masterieces here for sure, and -- what's this? A typo? Then I scroll through all the admin information till I see this:

Project budget: Less than $250

My reaction is, "They're kidding, right?" and, "Do they know how much research and writing time possibly could go into 10 well-crafted pieces? It's a wedding ceremony for cryin' out loud. It's for the most important day in some couple's life -- it should be beautiful and poetic and ... and on top of everything, Guru is going to take 10% of what I earn?

Then I think, who the heck would pay some nobody who knows nothing about your life, your love, your dreams (who in turn hires some unknown-but-hopeful hack writer ) to concoct their wedding ceremony, vows included?

Indeed. I guess it's true. You really do get what you pay for.

We've got roller derby!

2006-01-27T17:44:00.000-05:00

Just wrote an article for GRNow.com about the startup women's roller derby league here in Grand Rapids, the Grand Raggidy Roller Girls. Check it out.

Wider scope

2006-01-16T12:20:00.000-05:00

Thought I'd better change the description of this blog to better express its content. What prompted me is that I noticed this blogger (an ultra conservative guy from Rochester, Mich. I don't know what I think about that!) had linked me up on his Grand Rapids Blog and it dawned on me that I've been misrepresenting this blog a bit. (Think he'll delink me?) For some time now I've strayed from Grand Rapids into more things Michigan.

Oh, and speaking of Michigan, I also see I'm on the blogroll of this relocated Michigander ...

Of course I still have stuff on other topics, but hey, that's my prerogative.

Anyhow, here's the old description. The new one's up top.

File under "huh?"

2006-01-13T07:51:00.000-05:00

Every now and then you see a news item about a woman who's been told she can't breast-feed in some public place. Usually somebody or other is offended by such a "scandalous" display of infant nutritional needs being met. Other times public breast-feeding is held to be a violation of some official rule or policy. This story reported in the Ann Arbor News on Wednesday is of the latter type. Via MLive:

An Ann Arbor woman is upset that the YMCA will not allow her to breast-feed her baby in the swimming pool area.
Kelly Fuks said she was told it's a distraction to the lifeguards.
The Y says it is a health issue because it violates a "no food and drink'' rule in the pool area. Officials say she can breast-feed in many other parts of the building...
... The issue arose Dec. 22 when Fuks took her 6-month-old daughter, Ansley, her 3-year-old son, Maxwell, and a friend swimming at the Y in downtown Ann Arbor. Fuks said a lifeguard approached and told her she could not breast-feed Ansley on the deck of the family pool.
When she queried Y management later by phone, Fuks said, she was told that breast-feeding by the pool is forbidden because it's a distraction to lifeguards ...
... Diane Carr, senior programs director at the Y, said all food and drink is forbidden in the pool area, and that exceptions can't be made for breast-feeding.

Yeah. A breast-feeding 30-something mom is way more distracting than a gaggle of bikini-clad 16-year-olds. Oh, and that breast milk just might get spilled and put unsuspecting swimmers at risk of slipping and falling on the pool deck. Not to mention the sticky mess it would make.

Like I said, "huh?"
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Grand Rapids bloggers: Did you take the poll yet?

Pollard on the myth of leadership

2006-01-12T16:50:00.000-05:00

Dave Pollard writes the wonderfully thought-provoking blog, How to Save the World. I regret that I haven't read him more, but his posts are usually so long and complex that I tell myself I'll save them for when I have more time. Which of course I rarely have had. Until lately.

Now that I'm not working a regular 9-to-5, it sometimes feels like I have nothing BUT time. And mostly that's great, 'cause I can read things like Dave's blog more. And reflect more on things that always bugged me when I was working in the land of cubicles. Heh.

Things like, what passes for leadership in corporations -- indeed, in the country -- these days. Dave (he's Canadian and he starts off his post stating that he loves Americans but not our leaders) wrote a long missive on that very subject recently. You should read it for yourself (especially if you do not happen to be slightly left of center, since it'll expose you to something new). But here is my favorite bit:

...the essence of complex systems [is]: No one is in control. What gets done (for better or worse) gets done as a result of the staggeringly complex interactions and personal decisions of everyone. Even in the most hierarchical organizations, far more energy is expended finding workarounds for incompetent management decisions and policies (without offending management, of course) than is spent implementing the odd intelligent insight that management, with all the resources at its disposal, 'manages' to come up with. Employees, and customers (who are often treated only slightly less paternalistically than employees), actually have almost all the good ideas that would be needed to make any organization much more successful, but it is taboo to listen to them, to even be accessible to them. That would make the leaders look weak, as if perhaps they don't have all the answers. And that, of course, is unthinkable.

Absolutely. Unthinkable.

Take my advice and go read more of Dave Pollard.
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Hey, don't forget to take the poll, Grand Rapids bloggers!

GR bloggers: How 'bout a meetup?

2006-01-11T18:50:00.000-05:00

Anybody interested? Are you willing to leave the safety of your laptop for an hour or so and meet for beers and BS-ing about things bloggy? Let me know. Take the poll. (GR area bloggers only, please. You're on your honor!)
Final update 1/12, 2:35 p.m.: I don't know where my other two updates disappeared to, but the poll is working now, so give it a whirl.

UAW rank-and-file protest at the Auto Show

2006-01-11T17:05:00.000-05:00

Media Mouse points this report at Future of the Union on the protest outside the Detroit Auto Show this week, where several hundred of the UAW rank-and-file marched against General Motors and Delphi. Every major UAW local in Michigan was reported to have been represented, with union activists from many organizations joining them from across the country. The rank-and-file published website also noted that UAW bureaucrats in several of the larger locals did not support the grassroots-initiated march, in fact they neither publicized nor attended it.

Proofreading bugaboo

2006-01-06T08:36:00.000-05:00

Keash writes on every freelance writer's nightmare: typos. A lapse in proofreading can undo you. Yet I find too that this is one of my lesser skills.

On Wikipedia and what really matters

2005-12-30T09:50:00.000-05:00

Though I'm far from being an expert, I often find myself explaining "things internet" to people. Or maybe explaining isn't the right word. It's more like talking really enthusiastically -- fanatically, say some who know me well (they're the ones who roll their eyes when the subject of blogging comes up).

Anyhow, I was at a gathering of old friends and former colleagues yesterday when the subject of Wikipedia arose. "Wiki what?" they asked when I suggested a friend begin her search for something or other at Wiki rather than Google.

And so I offered my short explanation: Wikipedia is an encyclopedia on the web, open source that anyone can edit, very comprehensive, monitored by anyone and everyone, etc.

"But how do you know it's accurate?"

It's a fair enough question. I tried to explain my limited understanding of the dynamic of open source in as much time as you get with people who are cocktailing and trying to do a year's worth of catching up in five minutes, which is to say my response was kind of lame. Then today I came across this post on Wired Magazine editor-in-chief Chris Anderson's blog The Long Tail (subject of another post, another day). Anderson sets up by answering the question, "Why are people uncomfortable with Wikipedia, Google, even blogs":

Because these systems operate on the alien logic of probabilistic statistics, which sacrifices perfection at the microscale for optimization at the macroscale.

Then he goes on:

Our brains aren't wired to think in terms of statistics and probability. We want to know whether an encyclopedia entry is right or wrong. We want to know that there's a wise hand (ideally human) guiding Google's results. We want to trust what we read.

When professionals--editors, academics, journalists--are running the show, we at least know that it's someone's job to look out for such things as accuracy. But now we're depending more and more on systems where nobody's in charge; the intelligence is simply emergent. These probabilistic systems aren't perfect, but they are statistically optimized to excel over time and large numbers. They're designed to scale, and to improve with size. And a little slop at the microscale is the price of such efficiency at the macroscale.

"Is Wikipedia 'authoritative?'" Anderson asks, answering, "Well, no. But what really is?" Then:

The good thing about probabilistic systems is that they benefit from the wisdom of the crowd and as a result can scale nicely both in breadth and depth. But because they do this by sacrificing absolute certainty on the microscale, you need to take any single result with a grain of salt. ... Wikipedia "should be the first source of information, not the last. It should be a site for information exploration, not the definitive source of facts."

Two things I'd have my information-seeking friends take away from this: 1)Wikipedia is a first stop in a quest for information, a quest that, because of the internet, now can take you further and wider than has ever been possible in history, and 2) the wisdom of the crowd will be the influencer for the spread of knowledge and information from here on out. No more will "they" tell us what to buy, think, believe, feel ... increasingly, it is us -- consumers, the "citizen press," bloggers, and legions of others who are finding a voice on the 'net -- telling them what we want, what is true, what really matters. And we are a pretty powerful force. Keep watching, you'll see.

Rethinking the thanks?

2005-11-26T18:56:00.000-05:00

I dunno, I'm kinda glad I read this essay by Robert Jensen on Alternet well after the holiday. I feel guilty enough about all the food and drink indulgence without being made to feel I need to atone for the sins of my forefathers.

In "No thanks to Thanksgiving," Jensen, a J-school professor at the University of Texas, Austin, notes that

Instead, we should atone for the genocide that was incited -- and condoned -- by the very men we idolize as our 'heroic' founding fathers.

The post is well reasoned, and nearly 500 comments follow, which I just scanned. The most insightful, from my point of view, point out that 1) if you and I had lived 300 years ago, there's probably NO WAY we'd have thought any differently than the conventional "wisdom" of the day concerning Native Americans and the "right" of Europeans to prevail, 2) today's Thanksgiving holiday is more about giving thanks for blessings in our lives today, which is a good thing and something we don't do often enough as a collective whole and 3) no matter what we do, today's children had nothing to do with the genocide of our native peoples, and there is little point, other than to assure we understand the nature of their sacrifice and never underestimate or forget it, in dwelling on it.

I may be overly simplistic in my beliefs and quasi analysis. But I don't think that the act of giving thanks can never be a bad thing. And anyway, I doubt you could convince an entire nation to give up their drumsticks and football in favor of sackcloth and ashes, no matter how noble and right.

Just my opinion. Hope your holiday was a happy one.

Card

2005-10-26T13:02:00.000-04:00

I couldn't resist posting this. From my family, of all things.

Outside

Inside

Things I learned looking for photos of cannoli

2005-10-22T22:32:00.000-04:00

Yes, this is a not-so-veiled excuse to write about my birthday on this blog as well as on my other one. See, a group of us from work went to Vitale's to celebrate last night, where I locked my keys in the car along with the camera and computer. So since I didn't have a chance to take any photos, I thought I'd track down images to represent my birthday cake for the evening -- a cannoli. Here are some things I learned in the process:

Cannoli making is an art form. It is also the subject of art.
Cannoli is a popular name for cats. Lots of people with cats named Cannoli put their cats' photos on the internet.
People like to take photos of other people eating cannoli. Many of these photos also are on the internet with names like, "Jessica cannoli" or "love that cannoli."
You can buy what looks like stainless steel tubes used to form cannoli shells before deep frying them. These tubes are always shown in photos alongside an actual cannoli so there's no confusion as to what the tubes are for.
There are books, CDs, caterers -- even oil paintings named for cannoli. Well, not exactly, but you get the picture.
Cannoli seems most often served with coffee.
When you search hundreds of photos of cannoli on the web, cannoli itself begins to look suggestive.

The disappearing middle class

2005-10-19T12:16:00.000-04:00

All arguments aside over who's right and who's wrong in the Delphi case, you can hardly dispute that the middle class is squeezed today like it never has been.

Harold Meyerson of American Prospect and the LA Weekly expresses it well in this piece picked up last week in the Press. First he reminds us of the grand and glorious rise of the middle, thanks to union contracts and America's pride, the auto industry:

For much of the 20th century, [the auto industry] was, by many measures, our premier industry, the pride of the nation. Its Big Three manufacturers employed the most workers, produced the most output, made the largest profits, and paid their workers enough to transform the economic profile of the entire nation ... In the post-World War II decades, America became home to the first decently paid working class in the history of the world. This was no mean distinction.

Then Meyerson sums up what's happening to the middle class today:

In the face of the combined onslaught of globalization, de-unionization and deregulation, the bottom may not be falling out of the American economy, but the middle certainly is. The very notion of a decently paid working-class job has become a defining oxymoron of our time.

...So we level downward, and the normal workings of the economy seem powerless to stop it. We are in the third year of a recovery, but poverty rates and the number of medically uninsured continue to rise, while median household income continues to fall. Many millions of Americans are doing very well, of course, but, the inflation of home values aside, their ranks don't include their countrymen whose jobs can be offshored or digitized.

Meyerson pins some hope on the new federation (which he doesn't name) made up of the seven unions that recently left the AFL-CIO and whose efforts are being led by union organizer Tom Woodruff.

According to Meyerson, Woodruff claims that about 50 million private-sector workers -- nurses, trucker, retail clerks, others -- have jobs that cannot be sent offshore. Of these, some 44 million are unorganized. The goal of the new federation is to change that.
Sums up Meyerson:

That's no small task in a nation where the legal protections for union organizing have eroded to the point of nonexistence. But in a nation whose economically secure working class has gone the way of the dodo, few tasks are more important.

FH parents object to nonresident students

2005-10-17T22:56:00.000-04:00

Back in August I wrote about Northview School system's attempts to deal with a newly diverse the student population due in part to its schools of choice participation. I have one daughter in the high school here.

Recently, Forest Hills, my other daughter's school, made front-page news with the fuss parents are kicking up about the high number of nonresident students there. As a result, superintendent Mike Washburn has shut down nonresident enrollments while they examine the situation.

Forest Hills Northern HS parents complained in recent public meetings that the freshman class is made up of 22% nonresident students. Overall, Northern's percentage of nonresident students is 14%. Why the complaints? From the Grand Rapids Press article:

"Nonresident parents don't tend to get involved like resident parents," said Lorraine Bigelow, mother of a freshman and sophomore. "That could hurt you in fundraising.

"I don't see them at band booster meetings."

She also wonders about academic skills and whether Northern would reduce Advance Placement classes if it doesn't have enough qualified students.

"If you're bringing in students who aren't up to par, you have to do something," Bigelow said.

I'm reading between the lines here, and it ain't pretty. The article goes on:

... But the arrival of unfamiliar faces apparently unnerved some parents of Northern ninth-graders.

"The parents aren't sure what levels these kids are at," said Rose Pucci, mother of a freshman. "If the teachers have to spend more time with them, getting them up to pace, we don't know for sure, but it is a concern. .. "

To be fair, not everyone shares the sentiments of Bigelow and Pucci:

Rhonda Datema, who has children in district schools that feed Northern, attended the Oct. 6 meeting and felt "embarrassed" by the criticism.

"Parents are spreading a vicious virus throughout the Northern community," Datema said. "I'm tired of the negativeness on the phone, at soccer games, at the bus stop. We're only damaging our kids."

Even so, FH parents have enough misgivings to cause the administration to shut down nonresident enrollments for the time being.

Which is a shame. On all of us.

Let me get this straight ...

2005-10-13T22:30:00.000-04:00

... Delphi, which has now filed for bankruptcy in federal court, is primed to ask workers to take a 63% pay cut (that takes 'em down to around $10 an hour), pay 27% of their healthcare instead of 7%, and maybe take a 50% cut in their pensions.

Meanwhile Delphi's 21 top execs make as much as a mil each, and prior to the bankruptcy filing got even sweeter offers from Delphi as enticements to stay on.

Top domestic automotive supplier Delphi is not only big in the state, it's a pretty major employer the West Michigan area.

Media Mouse isn't the only one speculating that Delphi's bankruptcy will be used by by General Motors to pressure the United Auto Workers into major concessions to the auto giant. It's become "a common way for corporations to eliminate union contracts and pension programs."

I don't doubt the UAW will have to cave on this. It's times like these when I hear oh-so-many grumblings against unions here in virtually union-free Grand Rapids. And I don't get it. It's stomach turning enough to hear Delphi execs oozing their smooth corporate-speak on the radio about how they and GM and every other behemoth corporation have to "get a handle on things" before they're driven out of business entirely (and yes, I know all about lack of competition with developing countries when it comes to labor costs). But why do we begrudge these men and women their hourly wage? Is $27 an hour really so out of line? Can people really raise families on $10 an hour anywhere? With such wage concessions these hard working people won't even be able to buy the cars they're making parts for.

Update: Delocator

2005-10-05T12:31:00.000-04:00

Seems the anti-Starbucks Delocator site I wrote about last week has gotten a lot of press.

Company did well this year? Don't even think about any hefty pay raise ...

2005-10-04T22:46:00.000-04:00

From the Mercer Resource Consultings report, 2006 Worldwide Pay Survey:

“Despite the tremendous growth in the US economy, many companies remain cautious in their approach to pay increases. Organisations continue to use variable pay such as bonuses to help retain talented employees, as they struggle to afford higher base pay levels,” said Robin Ferracone, President, Human Capital Business at Mercer.

Struggle? Uh huh.

Sharp edges better than none

2005-10-02T22:36:00.000-04:00

Kathy Sierra on the "synergistic group building" team vs. the "idea-crushing, groupthink team."

It's about how hard the team/group works to exploit the smartest aspects of the team while maintaining ... distance and diversity ... It's about aggregating the intelligence of the individuals rather than having the group make decisions as a whole. And those are two profoundly different things. Most importantly, it's about working to keep the sharp edges instead of smoothing them all over.

Local Cafe "Delocater"

2005-09-28T23:19:00.000-04:00

Since he was a teenager, my son has said that people who frequent Starbucks are "feeding the beast." Even though I knew he was at least partly right about that, I've still managed to get in my 2-3 trips there every week.

Today independent media outlet Media Mouse comments on the Grand Rapids Press and WZZM TV 13 giving "free publicity" to a new Starbucks location in the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel downtown. Both media outlets covered the store's opening as "news," and Media Mouse gave a rundown of things the chain has been crticized for.

Which is a really long-winded way of telling you about Delocater. It's a site dedicated to preserving local cafes by pinpointing them side by side with the Starbucks franchises within a five-mile radius of any ZIP code you type in. The idea is that once you become aware of them, you would of course want to take your business to the locally owned cafes. From the "Why Delocate" page:

Currently, independently owned cafés around the world are under aggressive attack; and their numbers have been sharply decreasing for many years. Delocator.net is a means to preserve these local businesses.

Near my house are two Starbucks stores plus a Beaner's franchise. (Delocater concerns itself only with Starbucks, however.) Almost as close are seven independent cafes. One of them, Common Ground, I've blogged about; the other is Beanabox Cafe and I've visited there a few times. Both are great places and unlike Starbucks they have free Wi-fi. So why, again, do I visit the franchises so often? Hmmm.

Gotta wonder

2005-09-27T12:27:00.000-04:00

I know, I know. I live in the 'burbs. So why comment about what's going on in the city? Maybe I shouldn't. But when I read a post like this from Local Area Watch, I have to speak up.

Once again the focus is on something DeVos: A look at widening the Michigan Street bridge over Division, presumably to ease traffic -- including near at least three DeVos-related projects downtown. Now let me disclose right here that I work for the house that Rich and Jay built, so I'll make no comments either way about them or their businesses.

But I do take issue with this statement:

One has to raise an eyebrow at a study for routine re-engineering of a thousand-foot stretch of concrete costing three hundred grand. But the City Commission tells us not to worry, because DeVos’s development company will reimburse the City for the study’s cost. ... But who’s going to pay for the new bridge? Especially one that benefits DeVos’s medical towers project on one end and the DeVos Place Convention Center and any new hotel DeVos builds on the Olds Manor site on the other end?

Um excuse me, but since when is there harm in benefitting public places such as these -- venues like a convention center and a much-needed hotel that put $$ in city coffers?

Gotta wonder where reporting ends and axe grinding begins on this one.

Not a bad idea

2005-09-24T08:52:00.000-04:00

Wow, I agree with Grand Rapids Pundit on this issue. That is a first. The subject: an "adopt a bathroom" suggestion for keeping Aberdeen Park's facilities open for Creston tennis players as put to GR's city fathers and subsequently turned down.

I'm sure GR's reasons for not wanting to consider this particular form of alternate funding are all good, all practical, blah blah blah. Not to mention uninventive, unimaginative, and totally without vision.

Grand Rapids Public anything (you name it: schools, parks, pools, transit) can use all the help it can get. And of course the problems are much bigger than a few closed bathrooms in a park. Still, if you adopt no-brainer solutions like this one for for some of these smaller issues, you've then got more time and more energy for taking on the really big things. Why not give it a chance?

"Why employees walk" away from the job

2005-09-16T12:37:00.000-04:00

The Hudson Employment Index measures confidence in the employment market by the US workforce. Their recently released report, "Why Employees Walk 2005: Retention Initiatives Report" had some interesting insights as to why you or I might go looking for another job.

Ranking higher than inadquate pay and benefits on the "reasons to go" scale were intangibles such as advancement opportunities and training. According to the report:

... when workers’ needs regarding career advancement, managerial relationship, and training are not being met, they are more likely to look for a new job than when their salary and benefits are poor.

Yep and I believe it. In fact, at a recent employee meeting, top brass acknowledged shortcomings in all three areas. Employee surveys of the last two years have called out as being weaknesses a lack of training and few opportunities for advancement in particular. And for the last two years I have related same in a (management requested) review of my own boss.

The company needs to get a whole lot better at recognizing and leveraging the knowledge and skills of those of us in the "ranks" -- especially the more seasoned among us -- if they hope to keep good talent.

I don't think this is unusual to my employer. Over the last decade as companies have become "leveled" organizationally, they've gained agility and response time, it's true. But it seems to me that a flat organization offers little in the way of opportunity for growth. And when there's no place to go, employees can become stagnant and bored, creativity and innovation suffer, and the best and brightest begin to look for better and brighter places to strut their stuff.

Hurricaine remix

2005-09-10T00:27:00.000-04:00

Boing Boing points to the Legendary KO's remix of the new Kanye West song "Gold Digger." It's called "George Bush Doesn't Care About Black People," and it's in response to the "response" to Hurricaine Katrina:

Hurricaine came thru fucked us up round here
Government actin' like it’s bad luck down here
All I know is that you better bring some trucks round here
Wonder why I got my middle finger up down here
People’s lives on the line you declined any help
Since you takin so much time we survivin’ ourself
Just me an my pets an my kids an my spouse
Trapped in my own house lookin for a way out

Five days in this motherfuckin' attic
Can’t use the cell phone I keep getting static
Dyin' cause they lyin' 'stead of tellin' us the truth
Other day the helicopters got my neighbors off the roof
Screwed 'cause they say they comin' back for us too
That was three days ago I don’t see no rescue ...

PCUSA in distaster relief

2005-09-04T13:24:00.000-04:00

Our interim minister for mission at Westminster Presbyterian, David Baak, suggested ways for individuals and groups to help with the Hurricaine Katrina disaster effort through our denomination, Presbyterian Church USA (PCUSA).

Presbyterian Disaster Assistance immediately donated $500,000 from the One Great Hour of Sharing offering, collected from all congregations every year at Easter. PDA also has issued an emergency appeal for donations with a goal set at $10 million.

David also told us about volunteer oppportunities coordinated through PDA; specifically, you can

Give a financial contribution

Organize a work team or become part of one

Volunteer your church as a shelter

Offer your home to displaced persons

He reminded us we can also volunteer locally with the Red Cross; specifically mentioning their need for phone volunteers.

Paperwork or action?

2005-09-03T23:08:00.000-04:00

The Detroit Free Press reports today that area law enforcement officials were headed south to assist aid and rescue efforts despite Michigan's emergency management agency telling them to stay put.

Local law enforcment claims it's taking too long for required paperwork to move through the proper state channels. Instead they have been coordinating directly with local departments in the affected areas. The Freep reports that Oakland County Sherrif Michael Bouchard was headed to New Orleans with 12 Oakland County deputies in three Chevrolet Tahoes and a borrowed motor home. All without official "permission."

"Bureaucracy be damned, we're going to help," Bouchard was quoted as saying. "They can sort out the paperwork later."

State officials protested this circumventing of the rules, citing lack of liability coverage and other challenges that could result from going into the disaster area without all the i's dotted and t's crossed.

I guess I understand the bureaucrats needing to have order; rules are made in everyone's best interest, after all.

Or are they?

While people are doing cya with paperwork, it's already too late for so many in New Orleans.

How much higher will the death toll go? What will be the final extent of this tragedy? The sluggish rescue effort has become a national scandal of huge proportions.

Those like the sherriff and his deputies have the desire and the means to help. Why would the state even think of holding up their efforts for some fucking paperwork? What have we become when process and paperwork are the desired deliverables over content/results/action?

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Also

UPSIDE: Michigan-based Meijer sent trucks south with water and food.

DOWNSIDE: A local company is forced to suspend deliveries to businesses in several southern ZIP codes.

Comfortable white northerners

2005-09-02T22:25:00.000-04:00

Went to Vitales for drinks with a group of coworkers last night. It was the first of a monthly get-together thing we're trying to get going again after a year-or-so hiatus.

Of course one of the first topics of conversation was Hurricane Katrina and the utter hoplessness she left behind, especially in New Orleans. People were shaking their heads at reports of snipers shooting at rescue workers and at the looting taking place all over the city. But I was disturbed by the comment of one guy in our group -- something to the effect of "all looters should be shot."

I registered a loud protest at this but nobody took me seriously. Maybe I wasn't loud enough. But that was a totally ignorant statement from a privileged white boy. Not that there's an excuse for any of the acts against humanity that are being committed in New Orleans right now: the looting, robbing, shooting, raping, and on and on. But neither is there room for comfortable white northerners to be smugly criticizing something we can't begin to fathom; something we are so far removed from so as to be in another world altogether. None of us in Michigan can even come close to knowing the pain, the loss, the poverty at the basest level. None of us has a thing to say.

Chris Nolan and Tony Pierce also touch on the issue. (Links from Doc Searls)

More: Local indie news outlet MediaMouse offers its take.

"Coping" with diversity

2005-08-26T23:34:00.000-04:00

This (in its entirety) from today's Grand Rapids Press:

Administrators at Northview Public Schools are figuring out ways to cope with the district's increasingly diverse population. Superintendent Michael Stearns is working with Aquinas College's Woodrick Institute for the Healing of Racism in finding ways to deal with diversification. Oscar Perry, an institute project manager and training specialist, is working with students from Northview High School's and Crossroads Middle School's diversity committees. Also, administrative staff have taken two-day workshops on healing racism. Stearns wants to see the Board of Education, students and other staff gain similar experiences. "We don't have an option but to be serious about this," he said.

"Figuring out ways to cope with diversity." What an unfortunate choice of words. As if diversity is an unwelcome and embarrassing "country" relative sitting in our living rooms.

Which I guess it is.

The Northview school district is one of the many outcomes of "white flight" out of the city of Grand Rapids from the early sixties. It is on the northeastern edge of the city and happens to be the closest districts to the city. When schools of choice started three years ago, it became the most convenient school district for city parents concerned about the quality of their children's education in an urban setting.

The school, thankfully, is becoming more diverse. And it does indeed cause problems in a school population where I've seen many a young man fly a confedrate flag on his pickup.

But to call diversity something to cope with, rather than something to capitalize on and celebrate only highlights the existence of very deep seated prejudices here -- so deep-seated as to not realize the difference between the two attitudes: coping and embracing.

I have daughters at Northview High and my son is a grad. We left the city schools in 1996, not because they were "diverse" but because two of my three students were marginal achievers -- the kind that get lost in the cracks in a system set up to deal with extremes on either end of the learning spectrum.

Now many other parents are doing what we did -- parents of all races and backgrounds -- as they have every right to do. But the district is having a problem knowing just how to deal with the influx of nonwhite students. I'm glad they're trying. But they need to open up their horizons -- and attitudes -- just a bit more.

What are the chances?

2005-08-23T12:26:00.000-04:00

The Muskegon Chronicle reported that the ferry Lake Express on Sunday rescued a lone boater "clinging to debris from his capsized boat" in Lake Michigan some 20 miles off the Wisconsin shoreline.

Capt. Rick Hopper spotted something that "didn't look right," and acted on his hunch, changing the course of the ferry to pull the man from the water.

The boater, who wasn't wearing a life preserver when he was rescued, apparently felt recovered enough to want to walk off the boat under his own steam when the ferry landed. He was hospitalized in Milwaukee anyhow.

"He was really lucky that we happened along at this time," Hopper told The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

Uh, yeah he was.

Calling Technorati out

2005-08-21T09:48:00.000-04:00

Wow. Jason Kottke called it. Technorati's the emperor with no clothes. Or at least it's true that their vestments are in tremendous disarray. And it's about time somebody went public on it.

See, I've also been disappointed in the big T's performance on my searches. I too have been dismayed to see items come up that I've seen before, sometimes months ago. And I've been mystified to find that others with similar searches are coming up with results I never see (unless these folks point me to them). Although apparently not mystified enough to get off my ass and find another way to search. Until now.

So I've got my keyword searches going on PubSub now. I'll keep T going for awhile because it will be fun to compare results. And I think I'll try a couple of others, just to see what I come up with.

Jeff Jarvis's recent Dell Hell saga and now this are maybe just the tip of the iceberg in calling attention to the power of "negative viral" marketing. It will be interesting to see what kind of backlash Kottke's sound (but fair) thrashing creates.

Sitting out here

2005-07-24T23:03:00.000-04:00

I'm sitting out here on an eightysix degree night after a ninetysix degree day listening, listening to, what, tree frogs? cicadas? some kind of night noises enhanced by the heat. I'm waiting too for the bugs 'cause I haven't lit the mosquito candles and i'm not going to.

I should go back in the house and go to bed because it is eleven after eleven and I have to work in the morning but since when do I go to bed this early. Then you show up on skype well sort of, you're not really talking to me but you did accept an invitation from my new name that I opened but oh i am really rambling aren't I.

It is kind of a rambling night. You probably shouldn't get involved with talking to me anyhow -- i am likely not going to be any fun to talk to. But then again you can usually cheer me up. Which you know.

And now even though the bugs are not yet killing themselves all over my computer screen, they do seem to be landing on me and i can't tell which are mosquitos and which are other crawly things, so I guess I will go inside.

I'm also waiting for my daughters to get home from the beach, yes, it is this late and they're not home yet but they are with somebody from church and the mom is driving so I am not really very worried. they should be home in fifteen minutes or so.

And here they are, now saying hi, and one is asking, mom, did you see my pictures from our trip? Can you show me tomorrow I say. Why, she asks, 'cause you don't have time for me?

AIM flashes: I am being productive, you say.

Oh, how very admirable is my snarky answer.

My uncle was an admirable in the navy is your attempt to humor me.

I tell my daughter: Of course I have time for you. And together we go through the three inch stack of photos, mostly her and various boys she met on the trip.

AIM beckons again: Nothing? you ask. Not even a smirk?

I have no response. I am looking at pictures.

My daughter is happy and beautiful in the photos, and I tell her so, although the beautiful part she never believes. Oh, mom, she says with purest disdain, you have to say that, you are my mother.

I was the same way with my mother.

My other daughter is not like that. She is the one who wanted a hug from me when they returned yesterday after a week away. And now she has lost her big stack of photos, hopefully in the car she just left. Her friends will search the car more thoroughly tomorrow and call her.

Now they've gone to bed and I'm sitting here half chatting to you on skype, half not. Then it is midnight and you say

I'm going to bed, g'nite.

Good nite i say. And i log off.

Visitor

2005-07-03T00:19:00.000-04:00

I never for a minute imagined when he was born that I'd be visiting my firstborn in jail almost exactly 20 years later.

In fact when he went in last Monday, the day after his birthday, I decided he could sit there and stew for a week. Which was the length of his sentence for probabtion violation.The charge was OWI -- operating a vehicle while under the influence of liquor.

"You're not going to go see him?" my friend Ken asked. He was a little disbelieving. He also can't believe I didn't go to my son's court appearance. "He wanted to handle it himself," is what I said. But I felt like I was making excuses.

"You going to visit?" a friend with overnight jail experience asked me before the weekend started.

"You should at least call to see for sure when he gets out," another friend said today.

OK. You guys are right. The kid made his own bed and he's lying in it. But that doesn't mean his mother can't visit and say, "Hi, how ya doin', do you need me to come get you, and when?"

I called the corrections facility. And got nowhere. I have never navigated a phone tree that, when you got to the area you needed, said, "All the lines are busy now, please call back later." Call back later? What happened to "your call is important to us; please stay on the line for the next available operator"? Apparently the county figures it's not in business to please customers.

So I checked the corrections facility website and found out about visiting hours -- Wednesday through Sunday, three times daily. Each inmate can receive one 30-minute visit per week; two people in one visit, max. Suddenly I decided that I had to go. I quickly showered, threw on jeans, a T-shirt, and my tall sandals that don't let my jeans drag (what do moms wear to visit kids in jail?). Then I twisted my hair up atop my head, put on a little makeup, grabbed a magazine and a bottle of water and jumped in the truck.

I'd been to the jail once before to bail him out of the drunk tank. That time all I had to do was pay the lady and wait for him to be sent out into the waiting room. This time I was going in.

I filled out the little yellow slip with his name, my name. Showed my picture ID with DOB. Checked my purse, cellphone, water bottle, magazine into a locker. Then I walked through the metal detector that "isn't working, so we'll have to just pass the wand over you a second."

I headed to the elevator immediately beyond the metal detector and pressed the button to go up, as instructed. The door opened and out came a white woman holding a little brown girl's hand and an older black gentleman wearing a straw hat and a red Hawaiian shirt. When he saw me he stepped back into the elevator and bowed me in before he would get off.

"Ma'am," he asked, leaving, now that I was inside, "If they call me, why should I have to pay?"

"Oh, you absolutely should not," I told him, wondering why I was suddenly part of this re-enactment of a TV spot. He sauntered off without looking back at me. The door closed.

Up the elevator to 1M. Down the hall to another elevator. Up to 2M. The sign in both elevators read:

If the inmate you have just visted has just received upsetting news and seems depressed, please notify the corrections officer as you leave.

Clearly the county could use a copywriter. Stuff like that bothers me; I know it shouldn't.

On 2M I walked the length of the hall and pushed open the door with the sign "2M Visitation." Inside was a long, curved wall of windowed booths, each with a round metal stool and a telephone-like box with a receiver, just like on TV. On the other side of the windowed wall was a catwalk with two flights of stairs leading up to it from the main floor and identical booths with stools and phones. A control room on the main floor was occupied by a couple corrections who allowed the inmates to enter the area and who monitored the visits going on where I now stood.

There was one couple talking at the far end of the row of booths: he in the prison green jumpsuit, she in a red T-shirt. As I stood there looking for my inmate, their alloted 30 minutes of phone time apparently came to an end. "Can we talk longer?" I heard the man shout. "C'mon!" The woman in the control room shook her head vigorously. Time was up. The red T-shirt woman got up and walked past me to the exit. The man sprinted back down the stairs and disappeared through a door under the catwalk.

So far, my son had not appeared. I spied a call button high on the wall near the door and pushed it. "Yes?" A woman's voice inquired, like she hadn't seen me or didn't know why I might be standing there. "I'm here to see my son," I said, and gave his name. "Oh, she said, "Let me see where he's supposed to be."

"It'd better be here," I grumbled to no one in particular. And I waited.

After a few minutes I saw him down on the main floor, looking confused, motioning to the guards in little room, "What do I do? Where do I go?" I was obviously his first visitor. I jumped a little and waved but I knew he couldn't see me.

A few seconds later he found the stairs to the catwalk and bounded up, looking this way, that way, trying to find me. I waved some more and he saw me. A smile crossed his face in spite of himself. Then he gave in and smiled full face, waving a little goofily. We sat down in facing booths, picked up our respective phones and tried to talk. "Can you hear me?" "Nope." We tried again. The woman in the room downstairs called out to him and I could hear her, even throught the glass. "Go down to booth one," she said curtly.

He looked back then motioned for me to move down the row. I jogged down to booth one, laughing, trying to make light of what I knew was an embarrassing moment for him. It was obviously the kind of thing he should've known; it didn't look good to have made such a mistake. Turns out it was my fault for being in the wrong booth; they'd told him where to go before he climbed the stairs. He assumed they'd told me, too, and though it didn't look like I was in anything that could be considered the first booth, well, I usually knew what I was doing, he figured, so ...

He thanked me for making him look dumb. I let it pass. Nobody was around to see it anyway.

In booth one, we sat down and picked up the phones, each on our own side of the window. A recorded voice told us the conversation was being recorded. We said hello, and hello. He pushed the volume button. I asked how he was.

He was fine, he said. It was boring as hell and people talked too much, but he was doing OK. The first night was bad, but after that he'd gotten used to things.

He was glad I came because he didn't know how he was going to get home. You can't call cell phones from any phone in the jail (all we have are cell phones) and he didn'tknow anybody's number except his buddy's down the street, which was a cell anyhow. He didn't have any money for commissary, so he couldn't even get a letter to us (a letter? You'd actually write me a letter? was all I could think).

I told him I wasn't going to visit, but then I thought maybe I'd better come find out when for sure he was getting out and if he needed a ride home.

"Yes," he said pointedly. "Eight o'clock Tuesday morning. Be here. Please be here, Mom." He smiled. Same kid. Same attitude. It's what passes between us.

How was Dad? His sisters? His cat?

I told a story from earlier in the week when I'd scared both cats out of a life by suddenly starting up the coffee grinder as they sat unwitting, one cat on the kitchen table, the other on a kitchen chair.

Did anybody call or stop by?

Two guys, unsavory looking to me, but aren't they all, had stopped by on separate days. I told them where he was. They were sympathetic but not surprised.

I owe them both money, he told me.

He asked: Is my phone charged? Is my new razor still plugged into its charger? Will you check? The razor will be ruined if it's still plugged in ...

Then: I'm really glad you came. I thought I wouldn't have a way to get out of here. And you know me, I'm not even sure where I am. They're not too helpful around here. They probably wouldn't even tell me which way to go to get home ...

"Well, I'll be here at eight," I told him. "I'm off next week, so it won't be a problem. I'll bring your cigarettes. We'll go to breakfast."

"Cracker Barrel," he said. "Yeah, you'd better bring cigarettes for me. I will want one of those for sure."

He said he'd gone to court again on Wednesday and his driver's license was suspended for a year. Sixty to 90 days with no license at all, then a restricted one so he can drive to work and back. He needs to really get a job when he gets out, he says. A real job this time, not one at a gas station or a restaurant. I told him I'd help in any way that I can. Transportation is going to be difficult.

And so the conversation went. After awhile neither of us had much to say, for even though the two of us can carry on hours-long conversations -- and arguments -- this just wasn't the time or place. The 30 minutes was starting to feel long.

Finally he said, "Well, I don't want to be cut off, so I'll say goodbye. I'll see you Tuesday at eight. I love you."

"I love you," I said. And we hung up the phones.

He stood and pressed his palm against the window, fingers spread. I pressed my hand to his. "I love you," I said again. He smiled and walked away, making some kind of sign with his right hand. I walked to the end of the row of booths and exited through the door.

Out in the hallway I traced the long way back downstairs. I retrieved my driver's license from the check-in area and my belongings from the locker. I stopped in the restroom, then I left. I felt in a kind of daze. I suddenly realized my head was pounding.

Back out in the parking lot I walked toward my truck, trying to digest, to make some sense of the whole experience. I took my phone out of my purse, called my husband, and left a message. (He was out of town and didn't know I'd decided to do this.) Then I climbed into the truck and drove out of the correction facility complex. It was some minutes before I collected my senses enough to turn on the CD player, and I turned it on loud. I sang along:

Calling out to the astronaut. I need some of what you got. I need to be high ...

Which is totally dumb, I know. But sometimes that pop-y music is just the thing -- just the right amount of whine in just the right key to let me sing along full voice and make me feel better.

Tuesday morning I'll drive out to the jail again. I'll pick up my boy and give him a cigarette. Then we'll go to breakfast and he can tell me all about what it was like to spend a week in jail. I might cry a little. Then we'll talk about what he's going to do next. I won't be judgemental or get all preachy and he'll appreciate that. We'll figure out something.

Then come Wednesday,Thursday, Friday, we'll see what happens. He won't take things any faster than one day at a time.

Skypin'

2005-07-02T00:47:00.000-04:00

It's skype. Internet telephony. The newest thing. Well, not totally new. But it's my newest way of communicating.

Skype also has instant messaging text/chat. It's all free, unless you want to call from your computer to phones, which I don't. And everything's encrypted, which is very cool, since some of the people I talk to are a bit paranoid sometimes.

Looking at my call log, I've got conversations lasting 2, 3, almost 4 hours. What is up with that, anyway? I would never find that kind of time to talk on the phone. Not with god herself, I don't think.

But Skype is different somehow. You know, you get on the phone and you have to hold it. (I haven't got into the habit of using a headset to talk on my cell.) And cell phones don't give easily to the whole cradle-between-your-head-and-shoulder thing that regular phones always did. So there's that bit of awkwardness.

And there's something a little standoffish about a phone conversation, too. At least for me. If I encounter dead space in a phone conversation, things get uncomfortable and I start looking for a way to wrap things up. And anyhow, the entire conversation on a phone has a shouting, tentative feel to it. Like at any moment the person on the other end could find something way more interesting to do and you'd be out. At least this is my experience.

But I've found that when I Skype someone, I am plugged into whatever that person is doing at the moment and vice versa. Headphones on, we are each talking into our computers while we are reading web pages or typing blog posts, IMs, and email. We are also making perfunctory conversation with other people in the room with us, in addition to doing whatever tasks at hand can be accomplished while tethered by headphones. It is a little awkward to carry my laptop to another room, say, the kitchen to empty the dishwasher, but it can be overcome.

Skype almost makes you an invisible presence wherever your "skypee" is. Others can't hear or see you, but you hear and feel part of everything that's going on wherever they happen to be. Besides that, the give and take between the two of you is easy, free flowing. Your skypee could be sitting on the sofa next to your chair, sharing what you're reading, watching, typing. It's almost like being inside someone's mind and thoughts.

It's that, well, intimate. And a really easy, familiar way to while away a few mintutes or a few hours.

Are you interested in a meetup of Grand Rapids bloggers?
	Yee-ha! Tell me when and where. I'll be there!
	Um, sure. If I don't have to organize it.
	Can't you just start an online forum instead?
	Not sure. (I'm shy.)
	No-no, never-never, uh-uh-uh

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