In a governed society, the government identifies rights, defines them, determines who and how they are to be given to citizens and makes laws to this effect.

So the government assigns privileges to allow the citizenry to have and weapons are a privilege the government allows.

You can't do squat in this country that the government doesn't allow you to do.

Like it or not.

Porcello did look pretty good in his first start with the Mud Hens 0 runs in 7 innings. I don't think Lee would have been the right guy for Detroit way to high an asking price. There are two that make sense Oswalt in Houston and Haren in Arizona, both have a couple of years on their contracts. With the Tigers being able to unload some huge contracts after this season they should be in good shape when it comes to free agents.

If Bonderman would get more run support he'd probably be over .500 since he has pitched well this season and he hasn't shown any signs of his past arm and shoulder problems.

The Whitesox loosing Peavy might force them to make some sort of move and soon. They have to be one if not the streakiest teams in baseball and that could carry them past the Twins and Tigers. Only time will tell.

You are mistaken. Read the Federalist Papers and the Constitution. I demand to know where you got this false information. The Supreme Court's role is only to interpret law in case of disputes. Its role is very limited as well-which you would know if you had read the Constitution and the Federalist papers. Now, get reading!

Tigers all the way but get Verlander some help and get Cabrera out of the home run derby, he'll mess up his swing.

i don't know about you but if the Ump called that play and ruined my perfect game i don't think i would of been as nice

it was obviously the worst call in MLB history and MLB felt bad so they bought him a car???????? i don't know about you but if it was my game and they called that play wrong with a game as historic as that a car would not be enough i would be like give me my perfect game which is what he really deserves! hats off to Galarraga for being as calm and mature as he was for that game! class act! loved it! i wish more ball players would be like that..

Seems you have a point there! On the other hand, we can't just let people go around hitting the space bar any time they feel like it!

It would be CHA OS!

Slice of Vidalia onion, grilled. Guacamole, manchego cheese, and jalapenos. With bacon

Oh come on. You guys aren't going to make the girls drink alone are you?

This may seem like an obvious question but I was just wondering about it recently...

Is it safe to say that the vast majority of people, not only on this site, but in life, have had their heart broken severely by someone they love at least once in their life?

Justaguy wrote:
Our fabulous governor is making these " suggestions " now...after how many years of us seeing her policies drive this state into the ground.

Ms. Granholm is making these suggestions so that a Democrat has SOMETHING to run on.
SHE can't run again, so SHE is providing " ideas " on how to " lower " taxes.

Since you don't live here, I suppose I can forgive you for actually buying into that crap.

Ok, so you’ve had YEARS to influence your State Senate to prevent the policies from becoming law OR to request that your state legislatures ‘review’ and correct or repeal those policies that have proven ineffective. (in fact I noticed one was repealed, so influence by the people works)
A Point I want to make here:
All too often people align their own perspectives of government with the perspectives of a political party. People will tend to ‘expect’ the actions of their State (& Federal) representatives to correspond to their own political and social ideologies. Obviously, in this case, the Michigan Republican majority legislatures did not act in accordance with your beliefs. Aligning individual perspectives with that of a particular party line does not absolve individuals of the responsibility of staying connected with their reps and voicing their concerns and opinions of legislative actions.

It needs to be understood that each party consists of members whose perspectives, on any given issue, run along a spectrum and may or may not be consistent with our own. To continue to suggest that the State/country has gone to hell solely due to the (slur of ridiculous name-calling) dems/repubs is not only counterproductive but shows a lack of responsibility of our personal role in how government works.

You may be one who is totally involved, constantly calling your reps, writing them, or filling out their on-line or mail requests for your opinion, but you have to realize you are only one – so you have to think why didn’t my reps respond to these policies as I would have? Regardless, no matter the party one aligns with, once the representative has taken office, s/he is your representative and you and others, like you, are suppose to be their guide – where were all the Republicans and why where their views not promoted – perhaps they expected their Reps to know their minds (based on party) but now we both know that’s not how it works.

Justaguy:
Why, exactly, did she not " suggest " these things a few years ago??? Because cutting taxes, or even " restructuring " them is NOT on their agenda.

On whose agenda? – the state legislature’s agenda? Isn’t that supposed to be influenced by constituents, and specifically, in the case of Michigan, by the ‘Republican’ ideal? So who is to blame for this lack of proper ‘agenda’? (rhetorical question, referring back to our role as constituents)

Justaguy
Over the last couple of years, there were several stories in BOTH papers about the governor and lawmakers wanting to RAISE the taxes because there was less revenue coming in because people were leaving the state. Especially the small businesses and young wage earners.

You, having not lived here for the last 8 years, have not heard all the crap that has been promised, and seen the actual ACTIONS.

You are correct, I’ve been living in Indiana, and believe me we have been dealing with the same issue of attracting and keeping the young workforce and especially the young and educated workforce. We even have a department dedicated to figuring all that out? I’ve been following it and the number of educated people who have made their own inputs. Keeping up with it helps me decide how I want to respond to current legislative issues.

Justaguy:
But, of course, because you AGREE with it, you'll use that story as a shining example of Democrat " leadership ".

Not at all, I never said I agreed, I was simply making factual points from which to base the discussion. I vote for whomever I think will serve the constituents not the party – I have voted both parties and in the end no matter who my representative is, they hear from me, and I keep track of how they vote and what new policies they legislate.

Justaguy
15th out of 50 states is still not very good. Especially considering that everything POSSIBLE should be done to draw businesses TO this state after the collapse of the auto industry. The job losses in the auto industry have been going on for quite a while under her watch. Why is it that, just now, as she is about to LEAVE OFFICE, she is suddenly coming up with this idea when it could have been done YEARS ago?

As you said, I don’t live there, and my research was constrained by time, though I tried to find good source material. I spent a lot of time reviewing the “Michigan Business Tax” including its conception and instatement. Initially it was meant to reduce the tax burden on small business, in fact it seemed that was one of the major points of the policy.

I can’t say what went wrong but I did find a possible partial answer and today I did some comparison research with other states to see if it might be valid. It seems that over the last decade both Fed and State have been changing tax impositions on all businesses. But what has happened, particularly with new business ventures and those that remain small is that they have not kept up with all the options available to them to lessen their own tax burden. The greatest examples are in how they have set up and maintain their business (ie. S-corp, partnership, LLC, or Corporation). I realize this is only part of the problem, but many States have recognized it as well and have actually created entitlements or State agencies devoted to educate the State’s small business owners – too many of whom do not take advantage of this advocacy.

Justaguy:
So let me ask you this.

Why is it that to lower the taxes on small businesses, it has to be " offset "??? Why can't they just cut spending for their pet projects??

It's always, " We CAN'T cut spending!!! We would have to cut EDUCATION spending!!! * insert hand wringing here * ".

I laughed at the last part because I feel the same frustration. So … I looked into it. Let me run this past you and see what you think.

State governments have decided part of their responsibility is to ‘create jobs’. Although this has an element of truth, I think it has gotten out of hand. First of all, the State uses its tax and other revenues, combined with Federal entitlements for such things as land improvements (bridges, levees, sewers, roads, etc) which does create jobs. Except for ‘administration’ these types of jobs are basically short term and when privatized, as they are, these jobs may include workers from other states. BUT that’s not all bad because those workers ‘spend’ some portion of their pay supporting businesses in the state – and the businesses pay taxes.

State’s feel compelled to maintain this kind of job creation. First of all, some of it is absolutely necessary, repair of levies and roads and sewers must be maintained. Schools must be competitive or the State fails to attract and retain the young workforce and their families. Job creation in this is more of a byproduct of State government, but it has become viewed by some States as their responsibility (job provision). State gov then “requires” a certain amount of revenue to support that mindset. The state then raises taxes, often of businesses, in order to keep “creating jobs”.

I think that’s the problem. The tax burden on small businesses, and even on the people, is an effort to maintain their status as job creators but the jobs they create should be viewed as a byproduct of State welfare, growth and development. If the state does not recognize the error of its mindset, it will try to raise taxes in any area that will create State revenue. But THAT is an error, because it is the small business that generates the greatest amount of long term employment, therefore, as you have pointed out, it is the small businesses that should be counted on to ‘create the jobs’, no the State.

So I do agree with you, States need to reduce administration and support business through privatization, and maintain only the infrastructures of State that are too large and costly for any business alone to support.

So what do you think?

PS - I was interrupted with an important phone call while writing this so I have not considered your most post before this one. Just saying - in case you think I have ignored it, I havn't, just havn't gotten there yet.