Tag: Constitution (page 4)

There is no constitutional protection. If anyone can find it in the 1963 (current) Michigan State Constitution, please feel free to point it out.  I must concur with McLellen's statement:

"Republican barrister Richard McLellan, a state constitutional expert, said the constitution's language regarding pensions does not bind the state to protect pensions of municipal employees.

"It doesn't say the accrued and financial benefits are guaranteed by the state -- it doesn't say that at all," McLellan said."

And the aging/deteriorating legal brain of Frank Kelley saying so doesn't make it the truth.  Frankly, even in his BEST years, Kelley overlooked rampant corruption at all levels in Detroit, allowing the city to fall into the condition we now find it.

Detroit pensioners, you HAD your chance.

It seems the state has been overlooking a fundamental restriction already in place when certifying election results for 5+ year millages and Bond requests.  Has there been a validation for electors established to determine if the right to vote on certain issues?

Typically, those who show up for an election for a millage are unchallenged as to their ability to vote on such issues.  There are no instructions that stipulate the law, as established by the constitution REQUIRES a real stake in such issues printed on the election forms (ballots), and there are no alternate means to prevent abrogation of constitutional statute.  The Michigan Constitution is very clear:

ARTICLE II
Elections

§ 6 Voters on tax limit increases or bond issues.

Sec. 6. Whenever any question is required to be submitted by a political subdivision to the electors for the increase of the ad valorem tax rate limitation imposed by Section 6 of Article IXfor a period of more than five years, or for the issue of bonds,  only electors in, and who have property assessed for any ad valorem taxes in, any part of the district or territory to be affected by the result of such election or electors who are the lawful husbands or wives of such persons shall be entitled to vote thereon. All electors in the district or territory affected may vote on all other questions.

History: Const. 1963, Art. II, §6, Eff. Jan. 1, 1964.
Former Constitution: See Const. 1908, Art. III, §4.

A question we should be asking might be: "Is a passed millage request subject to legal challenge based on the inability to verify the legal status of the electors voting on such issues?" In other words, if you don't own property you cannot vote on a bond issue, so is your ballot restricted, or not?

The Freedom Index: A Congressional Scorecard Based on the U.S. Constitution rates congressmen based on their adherence to constitutional principles of limited government, fiscal responsibility, national sovereignty, and a traditional foreign policy of avoiding foreign entanglements. The percentages below are cumulative scores are based on key votes from 1999 through 2013. Click on a senator's or representative's name to get a detailed breakdown of his or her voting record.

Michigan

Why is it that government must constantly move the line in the sand in a way that chips away at our liberties?  Why do we continue to elect those who are so readily available and capitulating to the Lansing and National parasites which outnumber them 8 to 1?

Schmidt didn't write this legislation any more than he built Cobo Hall with his bare hands.  This is likely template legislation provided by ATS to Schmidt, and the reward for being such a bold legislator remains a mystery.

Any dummy that follows him into this rabbit hole just adds another reason to distrust our legislators' ability to learn from history.

Some of them glaringly obvious, some perhaps not-so-much.  Michigan Campaign For Liberty did a pretty good job of banging out 17 reasons why to hate the red light snitch devices, and perhaps adding to why folks like Wayne Schmidt ought not EVER seek political office EVER again.

From constitutionality to poor allocation of resources, to outright graft, you have seen our other commentary on this issue.  

Though most is spot on, about half way through he really hits a great point. Watch for his note on "punishment" Also, the sign that reminded me of all the great signs during the Tea Party growth period; The one that reads "If you thinks health care is expensive now, wait till its free" warmed my heart with its truthfulness and insight.

All of Michigan's Republicans stepped up to the plate to 'repeal' the 'affordable' health care act, with a couple of them making sure you know they did. It marks the third time the House has voted to fully repeal this law since 2011. Rep Tim Walberg (R-CD7) voted in favor of H.R. 45 to repeal the President's health care law, and said the following:

"The reality of Obamacare is millions of Americans losing access to their current health care coverage, job destroying tax hikes and mandates, and massive health insurance premium increases.  This government takeover of health care will hurt families, hurt small businesses, hurt retirees, and hurt Americans seeking to find work in our tough economy, so I voted today to repeal it.  I support common sense, patient-centered solutions such as ending lawsuit abuse, expanding the flexibility of medical savings accounts, and allowing the purchase of insurance across state lines, that will truly make health care more affordable and help families."

Fred Upton (R-CD6) heads the Energy and Commerce committee, which uses the platform to examine the costs of Obamacare (and actually uses THAT Name for it, which I find inappropriate and strange)as reported by insurers.

Candace Miller (R-CD10) referencing previous appropriations efforts alongside the repeal vote says:

"There is nothing more personal to each and every American than their health care and their relationship with their doctor.  And no issue is more important to each and every American than having a growing economy and job security.  Today the House acted for the 37th time to repeal ObamaCare because it puts at risk the doctor-patient relationship and it will destroy jobs and put countless others at risk.

To make matters even worse, last Friday the IRS admitted that it unfairly and improperly targeted conservative groups for extra scrutiny by using purely political motives for conducting their duties to enforce the tax code.  So now because of ObamaCare every American will not only have to submit all private information about their income and earnings to the IRS, they now will also now have to supply their most private health information to a government agency that currently does not have the trust of the American people.

ObamaCare has a myriad of fatal flaws that call for one action - the full repeal. The House has once again acted to get this job done and now if the Senate will join us we can get to work on a replacement to ObamaCare that has patient-centered reforms focused on protecting the doctor-patient relationship instead of putting it at risk, reducing costs instead of raising them, expanding access to care for all Americans instead of putting current care at risk, and finally creating jobs instead of destroying jobs."

And Dave Camp (R-CD4) listed a few reasons a couple days ago why repeal is a good plan.

Seeking to make a point about firearms, a Michigan man decided to open carry his .45-cal. handgun at his daughter's school and later uploaded the footage to YouTube. The father says he made sure to first notify the school, the Michigan State Police, the county sheriff and other local law enforcement officials that he would be exercising his right to carry a gun.
....

The rest of the man's trip to the school was seemingly incident free. He later had a conversation with the deputy about Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder recently vetoing a bill that would have permitted citizens with extra training to carry concealed weapons.

"To be honest with you, that would be better," the woman identified as a deputy says, talking about concealed carry.

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