MICHIGAN: LIVONIA RESIDENTS STAND FOR LIFE

CANDIDATE SPOTLIGHT: MICHAEL WILLIAMS

Texas Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams is running for Texas' open Senate seat, up for election in 2010. Williams is pro-life, pro-gun rights, and an all-around solid conservative. 


You can contribute online at his website, follow @michaelwilliams on Twitter, and become a fan on Facebook.

Below are some quotes from Michael, taken from www.williamsfortexas.com/issues.

On Government's Role in our Lives
"We are made in the image of God and endowed with rights inherited from Him. Government's primary responsibility is to advance the cause of freedom and promote, protect, and secure the inalienable rights that were endowed to us by God..."

On Immigration
"We value legal immigration... Amnesty is an affront to the rule of law.

On the Environment

"We have a moral duty to be good stewards of God's creation... Pro-growth energy and environment solutions -- those that rely on innovation, entrepreneurship and new technology -- will yield more clean, affordable, and reliable energy for America's families and business.

On the Federal Income Tax

"The federal income tax system is unfair. We should eliminated death and capital gains taxes, move to an optional single rate flat tax, allow the investment in new equipment to be written off in one year and make permanent the research and development tax credit."

On Faith in the Public Square

"The separation of church and state does not mean that there can be no reference to God in government-sanctioned activities or on public grounds. Our children should be allowed a moment of silence to pray if they desire. Crosses or other religious symbols should be able to remain on public property and the phrase “One Nation Under God” should remain in the Pledge of Allegiance."

On the Right to Keep and Bear Arms

"The 2nd amendment is clear. I have never understood the wisdom of restricting access to firearms by law-abiding citizens as if that will also keep guns out of the hands of people already predisposed to committing crimes. The 2nd amendment, and its free exercise by law-abiding citizens, makes our communities safer. And I am proud to be a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association."

On the Right to Life

"The Declaration of Independence states, “we hold these truths to be self evident”, namely, that we are all created equal and are endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights, the first of which is the right to life”. Life begins at conception. We should vigorously oppose abortion on demand, embryonic stem cell research, partial birth abortion, and allowing babies who have survived an abortion to die. As people of compassion we must defend the rights of the most vulnerable, the unborn. With millions of couples seeking to adopt a child, we must do everything possible to encourage life."

On the War on Terror

"Al Qaeda, Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas and similar terrorist organizations pose serious threats to the United States. We must help defend America and our allies, remain vigilant to survive an attack on our soil and defeat our enemies."

VALUES VOTERS SUMMIT: MIKE HUCKABEE SPEAKS AND WINS STRAW POLL

Governor Huckabee gave a great speech at the Values Voter Summit yesterday morning. His speech covered a wide array of issues, from abortion to taxes to Obama to marriage. Following Friday's morning session, a 2012 straw poll was held. Governor Huckabee came away with a stunning victory, and it was clear that the audience present supported the Governor. David R. Schmidt, executive director at HucksArmy.com, wrote a great review of the speech here.

Mike Huckabee 170 votes – 28.5%
Mitt Romney 74 votes – 12.4%
Tim Pawlenty 73 votes – 12.2%
Sarah Palin 72 votes – 12.1%
Mike Pence 71 votes – 11.9%
Newt Gingrich 40 votes – 6.7%
Bobby Jindal 28 votes – 4.7%
Rick Santorum 15 votes – 2.5%
Ron Paul 13 votes – 2.2%

PRESIDENT OBAMA: RACE NOT OVERRIDING ISSUE IN HEALTHCARE DEBATE

Vicious verbiage toward President Obama is not different than that that hit other Presidents who tried to make other major changes. Racism isn't the major problem here, he said, in an interview with CNN's John King set to air tomorrow.

“Are there people out there who don’t like me because of race? I’m sure there are. That’s not the overriding issue here,” he said. “I think there are people who are anti-government. I think there’s been a long-standing debate in this country that is usually that much more fierce during times of transition, or when presidents are trying to bring about big changes.

“I mean, things that were said about FDR (Franklin Delano Roosevelt) were pretty similar to things that were said about me. ‘He’s a communist, he’s a socialist.’ Things that were said about Ronald Reagan when he was trying to reverse some of the New Deal programs, you know, were pretty vicious as well.”

Obama deserves praise for this statement. While Republicans across the country are accusing him of being a racist, he has set that false notion to rest.

Thank you, Mr. Obama.

VALUES VOTERS SUMMIT: LIVE

The 2009 Values Voters Summit is underway. Governor Huckabee gave a great speech around 9:00 this morning. Click here to listen.

UPDATE: Star Parker and Sarah Palin both scheduled to speak between 2:00 pm and 5 pm this afternoon.

MICHIGAN: MIKE BOUCHARD TAPS TERRY LYNN LAND FOR RUNNING MATE

Oakland County Sheriff and Republican Gubernatorial candidate Mike Bouchard announced yesterday that he has selected two-term Secretary of State Terry Lynn Land for his 2010 running mate.

Both our pro-family leaders in our state, and both have been successful in cutting their office budgets without slashing jobs. Land's Secretary of State offices are now the epitome of efficiency (I know from experience) and Bouchard's Oakland County Sherriff's office has been one of the most successful in the nation.

I'm not sure yet who I'm going to vote for. Attorney General Mike Cox is my favorite at this point, and I still haven't forgiven Bouchard for lampooning Keith Butler's 2006 bid for U.S. Senate. My feelings may soften before 2010, however.

Land dropped out of the race for Governor and immediately endorsed Bouchard, but this early announcement is interesting, given that it will be almost a year before 2010 when the state GOP convention nominates a candidate.

You can visit BouchardforGovernor.com to learn more about his campaign.

GUEST COLUMN: RESPONSE TO DETROIT: BUDGET CUTS NECESSARY

I don’t know where to start, so I will just start with “his own residence” remark. First of all, Mayor Bing doesn’t own anything in the city of Detroit, he rents the apartment. He also still owns his ‘real’ home in Franklin MI. Also, since we have to pay for the mansion whether Dave Bing lives in it or not is now a waste of money.

Dave Bing is taking a salary, he is just giving to the general fund, but rest assured, we are still paying him a salary. What he does with it after that is his business.

30% of Detroit households don’t a car, that’s 30% of Detroiters that need the bus all the time. You do not take the bus, I do. I know what people go thought when they have to wait an hour for a bus. Do you? No bus service is not what this city needs, cut down on the bus routes, but do not eliminate them, as with his first proposal.

I suggest we have Sunday bus service on both Saturday and Sunday.

I suggest we raise the fair by $0.25 to generate more revenue from the bus service.

I suggest we have longer wait times on certain routes I.E. Instead of a 30 minute wait for a bus, we have a 40 minute wait. In this way, we can cut only one job from a route instead of 2 or 3.

Look into the numbers and try to find other ways to save Detroit money. Don’t just say “Let’s do this and not that.” Give us why, and how to fix it. How will these cuts affect others? Mayor Bing’s first proposal was to eliminate bus service completely from 6 P.M. Saturday evening to early Monday morning. That is a long time with no public transportation at all. We can’t, as a city, do that to our citizens.

I agree that cuts should start from the top, but do they really? As I said before, Mayor Bing is still drawing a salary he is just giving it away. Furthermore, Bing has appointed more people than any Mayor before him, all with six figure salaries in a debt filled Detroit budget. I call for the Mayor, City Council, and City Clerk to take a 30% reduction in salary, lead by example. None of them are willing to do this. None of them are willing to give up perks, save one. Cuts should start at the top, but no one from the top is taking your advice.

Herbie Felton was a 2009 Detroit City Council Candidate.

MICHIGAN: PRO LIFE ACTIVIST GUNNED DOWN

According to news reports, an elderly pro-life activist protesting abortion was gunned down this morning outside a high school. Police say that he was likely targeted, since several other people were around at the time. He is something of a local celebrity in that area.

Pro-life leaders from around the country praised his work and expressed condolences for his family.

Lila Rose of LiveAction Films had this to say: "We are greatly saddened and disturbed by the murder of pro-life activist, Jim Pouillon.

We condemn the violent act which robbed Jim of his life, and we stand with him in his protest against our nation's violence to the unborn. Now is the time for the pro-life community to stand with even more courage and unity against abortion. We will work tirelessly until our nation recognizes the right to life of every human being, even the smallest and weakest."

One of Pouillon's close friends said that Jim had said he was willing to die for his beliefs.

We will keep all those involved in our prayers.

More available at MLive.com.

MICHIGAN: WHY MIKE COX IS DIFFERENT THAN MARK SANFORD

Mark Brewer, chairman of the Michigan Democratic Party, recently challenged Michigan Attorney General and gubernatorial candidate Mike Cox to explain how he will be different than South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford. Of course, Brewer is referring to the extramarital affair that Cox confessed to in late 2005. It had happened to several years prior to that, but was not public knowledge. He had earlier confessed to his wife and they had worked it out. So in my opinion, shouldn't have been an issue then.

The MDP released this statement on Tuesday:

“This 92-step plan ignores what the voters really need from Mike Cox,” Brewer said. “Cox should be focusing on a two-step plan. First, he needs to explain how, as Governor, he would be different from South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford. Second, Cox needs to practice what he preaches and fully disclose his role in the Manoogian Mansion party cover up."

Since Mr. Brewer apparently hasn't figured it out, here's how Mike Cox is different from Mark Sanford.

• He and his wife worked out the situation.
• He proved his true repentance by staying clean since that time.
• Cox didn't claim that his affair was "a true love story." He was sorry and proved it.
• He and his wife are still together.
• He didn't travel on state funds to see his lover.
• He didn't lie about the affair.

I am not supporting Attorney General Cox for Governor, at least not yet. But I definitely will get behind him should he get the nomination. He's been successful in the offices he's held so far, so give him a chance.

And rest assured, Mr. Brewer: As long as Cox is different than your friend Jenny, we'll be in good hands.

DETROIT: BUDGET CUTS NECESSARY

Mayor Dave Bing has recently come under fire for suggesting that Detroit cut bus service on some routes, in order to assist in stopping an ever-increasing budget deficit. In my view, the bus service is an important aspect of our city government and should be a last resort. However, because of our dire financial situation, a little pain will be necessary.

The bottom line is this: Our city services are set up for a population of well over a million residents. It's been some time since our city has had that size population; we stand at about 800,000 currently.

We have to cut somewhere, and cuts need to start at the top. Mayor Bing has done this, by not taking a salary and living in his own residence, rather than the city-owned mansion.

Over 30% of Detroit households do not own a car, which complicates the situation. Busses are one of the most important services Detroit provides to its residents. Many of the proposed routes to be cut are unfrequently used and liabilities to the city.

We've gotten into trouble before by spending money that we don't have, and it's time to stop. Mayor Bing is to be commended for putting the cities longterm interest ahead of opinion polls and his political future. I'd rather see busses cut than police officers taken off the street, and if you look at our rising crime statistics, you will likely agree.