France Enters Mali to Stop Islamists From Taking Over the Entire Country: America, Meet Our Next Battleground if Things Go Badly for the French-Lead Forces

<Sigh>

French special forces and elements of their Air Force are fighting in Mali, in an attempt to stop Islamist forces who have already seized the north of the country from advancing any further.

I hope the French are victorious. 

The EU and United States cannot afford to have the French Army be defeated by the Islamists, as has happened in the past.  If it looks like the French get in over their heads, I think it’s safe to say that the United States military will be unleashed in Mali to help the French.

The French have been acting like cowboys the last couple of years.  It’s nice to see, but not if the United States ends up invading another country to support another nation’s military adventures.  That’s the last thing we need.

We need time to rebuild and retool our own military, and we can’t do that while we’re locking horns in another country AND cutting the military budget at the same time.  That equation doesn’t work!

Lance Armstrong Admits Doping: Major Disappointment, Though Not an Entirely Unexpected Result

I didn’t want to believe the accusations that the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency leveled against Lance Armstrong, but he’s admitted to Oprah that he used performance enhancers.

I read the USADA report on Armstrong when it was published last year, and the accusations contained within required a huge stretch of the imagination.  My impression was that the report read like a very bad book by a fourth-rate author attempting to get noticed by a publisher.  But outlandish claims of 40-50 people sharing in his cover-ups of his illegal activities turned out to be true.

Shame on Lance Armstrong.   He cheated his way to victory after victory.  I got the impression that he was sorry that he got caught but didn’t mind destroying others who were making true statements about his cheating and rampant drug use.

All of his foundation’s good works may come undone as the lawsuits start to pile up.  What a waste of goodwill; cancer will continue to haunt us for even longer if a powerful cancer treatment advocacy and fundraising powerhouse like Livestrong goes away. 

That’s the saddest part of this entire affair.   I hope Livestrong survives this and continues on its mission without Lance Armstrong poisoning the well any more than he already has.

I have to wonder if we’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg in the cycling world.  What else is going on behind the scenes?

Current TV Rejected Glenn Beck Network’s Attempts to Buy Struggling Network For “Not Being Aligned With Their Point of View,” But Allowed Itself to Be Prostituted to Enemy Propaganda Network Al Jazeera—Way to Go, Al Gore

Reports have emerged that Glenn Beck’s Blaze Network attempted to put Al Gore’s failed Current TV network out of its misery by buying it, but the liberal outlet rejected the offer, stating that "the legacy of who the network goes to is important to us and we are sensitive to networks not aligned with our point of view."

So instead, they sold their souls to Al Jazeera, the enemy propaganda network, in a display of Al Gore’s true colors.

“Networks not aligned with our point of view” my afterburner. 

They actually believe their own lies and distortions to the point that they would rather provide aid and comfort to the enemy rather than have their failed network stay in the hands of people whose ultimate allegiance is to the United States.

I feel bad for the employees of Current TV, who are speaking out about Gore selling them out to the big oil interests behind Al Jazeera.

Debt Ceiling Language is Being Manipulated By Scare Mongers in Congress: What a Debt Ceiling Really Is

There are certain key phrases that Congress and President Obama will be throwing around in increasing frequency as the days and weeks go by.  And they will manipulate what each term means, in the hopes of confusing and scaring the public to pressure the other side to agree to something.

First, the debt ceiling is how much the United States government can borrow from the banks and other nations.  If the ceiling is not raised, we will be able to fund 60% of government operations at full strength with incoming federal taxes and other federal income.  This is critical to understand.

Next, being able to “service the debt” means to be able to pay the interest on the debt, plus some of the principle.  We CAN service the debt whether there is a debt ceiling or not using incoming federal taxes.  If we do default on being able to service the debt, it’s because the Obama Administration has diverted the money used to service the debt on a monthly basis into funding part of the government under the “obligations” discussion below.   They have 100% control over whether the monthly bill is paid or not.  We’ve never failed to pay this, even when the government was “shut down.” 

Finally, being able to meet our obligations.  This simply means running the government at 100% of what President Obama wants.   We will hear that we will “default on our obligations” if the debt ceiling is not raised.  This is not true.  We will have enough to fund 60% of current  government operations.

Seems to me if the government was operating at 60%, we’d be cutting deeply into the debt and reducing it, while living within our means instead of borrowing money and running up the debt like many Administrations have chosen to do.

If the government is shut down due to no action on the debt ceiling, it’s actually 40% of the government that is shut down, though President Obama could order 100% of the government to shut down as a political weapon to increase pressure on his political opponents to agree to his terms.

This is why the GOP will not knuckle under quite as easily as they did over the “financial cliff” stupidity.  The government could stand to get a haircut.

Al Gore’s Worthless “Current TV” Network Bought By Equally Worthless Al Jazeera TV: Gore Says He’s “Proud and Pleased” At Having His Network Bought Out By Enemy News Propagandists

How the mighty have fallen.

Al Gore’s failed Current TV network has been by bought by the useless Al Jazeera network, which is nothing more than an enemy propaganda network.  The buy will gain Al Jazeera a larger foothold in the U.S. market than it was able to achieve on its own.

Said the anti-American propagandist Al Gore: “We are proud and pleased that Al Jazeera, the award-winning international news organization, has bought Current TV.” 

Time-Warner cancelled their own contract with Current TV after the sale was announced, which reduced Current TV’s foothold in New York and LA. 

Al Jazeera announced that their new network offering in the U.S. would be called Al Jazeera America, as if that was going to help this unholy union.  I’m not going to wish them luck in their new endeavor.

Michigan Governor Snyder Signed Dozens of Bills in the Last Ten Days of 2012: What Was Enacted?

Here is the list of bills signed by Governor Snyder of Michigan in the last part of 2012, from the Governor’s web site.  I have been reading that he had signed all these bills, but couldn’t find out what they were.   The lame duck session has been anything but lame duck.   I wasn’t able to find PAs 499-501.  I think PA 499 was an abortion one.  Don’t know about the others.

If it was just one or two bills, I wouldn’t even mention them here, but there are tons of new laws.  I question how many of these bills our representatives in Lansing actually read. 

The new laws:

House Bills 5843 and 5902, sponsored by state Rep. Joe Graves, would make it a felony punishable by up to five years' imprisonment if a person is found guilty of knowingly committing organized retail crime. This includes the theft of retail merchandise with the intent or purpose of reselling, distributing, or transferring the stolen retail merchandise to another retail merchant or to any other person personally, through the mail, or through any electronic medium, including the internet, in exchange for anything of value. The measures are now Public Acts 455 and 456

HB 4725, sponsored by state Rep. Tom McMillin, prohibits certain governmental agencies from disclosing personally identifying information pertaining to minor victims of child abuse, criminal sexual conduct, sexual assaults or molestation, or similar crimes. It is now PA 457.

HB 4804, sponsored by state Rep. Roy Schmidt, revises the monthly payment-in-advance mandate for state use tax payments by large retailers or vendors who would also have to submit the money by electronic funds transfer. It is now PA 458.

HB 4838, sponsored by state Rep. Sharon Tyler, creates the "Interstate Mutual Emergency Aid Act" to authorize the state and local units of government to enter into mutual aid agreements with out-of-state units of government to provide for the coordination of communications, training, and response to planned events and emergencies. It is now PA 459.

HB 4856, sponsored by state Rep. Ben Glardon, prohibits the transfer of medicinal marijuana by vehicle unless the drug is enclosed in a case and placed in the vehicle's trunk or secured in a way that is not readily accessible from the interior of the vehicle. It is now PA 460.

HB 5047, sponsored by state Rep. Harold Haugh, allows local units of government to submit final tax settlement rolls in an electronic format provided the format is compatible with the computer system used by the corresponding county treasurer. It is now PA 461.

HB 5156, sponsored by state Rep. Joel Johnson, exempts insurance company employees and agents, lawyers and certain other professionals from needing an insurance adjuster license. It is now PA 462.

HB 5220, sponsored by state Rep. Marty Knollenberg, allows a petitioner or a local tax collecting unit to request an informal settlement conference after a petition was filed in the Residential Property and Small Claims Division of the Tax Tribunal. It is now PA 463.

HB 5261, sponsored by state Rep. Holly Hughes, allows teachers retired for more than one year an approximate one-year window to reenter the classroom (for up to 3 years) if they are on a critical shortage list as determined by the state superintendent. It is now PA 464.

HB 5267, sponsored by state Rep. Bob Genetski, provides for a school district to qualify for special pupil membership counting provisions, as well as a seat time exemption, if the district operated a dropout recovery program that met specified criteria. It is now PA 465.

HB 5301, sponsored by state Rep. Amanda Price, requires charter counties to certify their compensation, retirement and health plans for employees conform to certain standards as a condition of receiving state road funds beginning Sept. 30, 2014. It is now PA 466.

HB 5444, sponsored by state Rep. Jud Gilbert, allows Michigan-based trucking companies to receive sales and use tax exemptions for the post-purchase installation of equipment and parts. It is now PA 467.

HB 5466, sponsored by state Rep. Kurt Heisse, eliminates the requirement that a contractor, architect, professional engineer or professional survey indemnify a public entity from all claims in a construction contract. It is now PA 468.

HB 5852, sponsored by state Rep. Kevin Daley, ensures that the price of gasoline is clear and posted correctly for consumers while allowing retailers additional time to make changes to their signs. It is now PA 469.

HB 5873, sponsored by state Rep. Anthony Forlini, changes the Police and Fire Survivors Tuition Act to a tuition "grant" program, and raises the eligibility age from 21 to 26. It also moves the administrative responsibility for the program from the Michigan State Police to the Department of Treasury. It is now PA 470.

HB 5883, sponsored by state Rep. Joel Johnson, replaces specific restrictions and regulations on catching fish with a net with a general grant of authority by the Department of Natural Resources. It is now PA 471.

HB 5931, sponsored by state Rep. Matt Lori, allows the Department of Community Health to use email to notify of Medicaid policy changes to Medicaid enrolled providers. It is now PA 472.

HB 5936, sponsored by state Rep. Holly Hughes, provides a driving skills test waiver for qualified military veterans seeking a commercial driver license. It is now PA 473.

HB 5937, sponsored by state Rep. Peter MacGregor, creates a use tax exemption for general contractors and manufacturer-contractors for the affixation of tangible personal property to real estate located in another state. It prevents businesses that both manufacture and install tangible personal property in other states from being double taxed. It is now PA 474.

HB 5732, sponsored by state Rep. Jud Gilbert, allows a company or developer with historical resource rehabilitation tax credit to sell all or part of the credit to other firms. It is now PA 475.

SB 931, sponsored by state Sen. Roger Kahn, provides supplemental budget appropriations for the Department of Community Health to support behavioral health services for Medicaid-eligible children in foster care and child protective services. It also grants additional funds to Grand Rapids Community College for renovations to Cook Academic Hall. The bill also accounts for book closing on FY 12 so that the state's financial statements are balanced and accurate. It is now PA 476.

HB 5461, sponsored by state Rep. Deb Shaughnessy, amends sentencing guidelines to include an unemployment compensation fraud offense as a Class H felony against property subject to a statutory maximum of one year's imprisonment. This will apply to violations in which a person obtains or withholds an amount of unemployment benefits or payments exceeding $3,500 but less than $25,000 as a result of a knowingly false statement or representation or failing to disclose a material fact. It is now PA 477.

House Bill 5523, sponsored by state Rep. Aric Nesbitt protects the online privacy of Michiganders by prohibiting employers and educational institutions from asking applicants, employees and students for passwords and other account information used to access private internet and email accounts, including social networks like Facebook and Twitter.  HB 5523 is now PA 478.

Senate Bill 152, sponsored by state Sen. Tonya Schuitmaker, revises existing law to require that video recordings of interrogations be made in certain criminal investigations regarding major felonies. It is now PA 479.

SB 873, sponsored by state Sen. Jim Marleau, protects commercial truckers from unfair contracts that leave them open to damage to their equipment without being paid by those responsible. It is now PA 480.

SB 933, sponsored by state Sen. Rick Jones, allows employers to not be responsible for paying for employee medical marijuana treatment. It is now PA 481.

SB 972, sponsored by Hildenbrand, requires notification to a property owner when property is returned to the county treasurer because of delinquent taxes. It is now PA 482.

SB 978 and 979, sponsored by Schuitmaker, and SB 980, sponsored by Jones, allow for the practice of trust decanting, meaning assets held by an irrevocable trust may be moved into a different trust. The bills are now PAs 483-485.

SB 988, sponsored by state Sen. Steve Bieda, designates the walkway between the state Capitol and the Hall of Justice as the Frank J. Kelley Promenade. It is now PA 486.

SB 996, sponsored by state Sen. Tom Casperson, requires the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to make indemnity payments to livestock producers for the death, injury, or loss of their livestock due to wolves, coyotes, or cougars. It is now PA 487.

SB 1031, sponsored by Casperson, allows recreational activities as approved uses of municipal forest lands. It is now PA 488.

SB 1133, sponsored by state Sen. Rebekah Warren, allows the State Administrative Board to sell the vacated Ypsilanti State Police Post. It is now PA 489.

SB 1148, sponsored by state Sen. Bruce Caswell, allows certain exceptions to the requirements for an industrial facilities exemption certificate. It is now PA 490.

SB 1180, sponsored by state Sen. Goeff Hansen, allows the secretary of state to use the Pure Michigan branding as part of the standard issue vehicle license plate. It is now PA 491.

SB 1189, sponsored by state Sen. Mark Jansen, establishes pension oversight by requiring equal treatment of elected and appointed members of a public employee retirement system governing board. It is now PA 492.

SB 1272, sponsored by Jansen, requires employers' contribution payments and obligation assessment payments to be credited first to interest on the obligation assessment and then to the assessment, with the remainder credited as currently required to penalties and interest on contributions and contribution principal. It is now PA 493.

HB 4134, sponsored by Margaret O'Brien, provides tax exemption for new construction on development property from school operating taxes for up to three years or until the property is sold or used for commercial purposes. It is now PA 494.

HB 4496, sponsored by state Rep. John Walsh, allows community colleges to grant bachelor's degrees in cement technology, maritime technology, energy production technology, and culinary arts. It is now PA 495.

HB 4726, sponsored by state Rep. Al Pscholka, excludes wages earned by volunteer firefighters if less than $10,000 so it won't affect the amount of unemployment benefits they may receive. It is now PA 496.

HB 4753, sponsored by state Rep. Peter Pettalia, allows family members to transfer residential property to a parent or child without incurring a pop-up tax. It is now PA 497.

HB 5668, sponsored by state Rep. Brad Jacobsen, primarily allows used car dealers to voluntarily enter into an agreement with an inventory lender so the lender can retain physical possession of a used vehicle's certificate of title as long as the used vehicle dealer meets certain criteria. It is now PA 498.

SB 1210, sponsored by state Sen. Mike Kowall, streamlines and improves the effectiveness of the brownfield grants and loans program, providing a sustainable revenue stream. It is now PA 502.

HB 5835, sponsored by state Rep. Jeff Farrington, repeals the outdated Savings and Loan Act of 1980 and any reference to it is removed. The Savings and Loan Act of 1980 no longer serves any purpose and no institutions are chartered under the Act. It is now PA 503.

HB 4561, sponsored by state Rep. Joe Haveman, coincides with the national code cycle change and gives the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs the ability to determine if code changes are substantial enough to warrant updating the Michigan Residential Code more frequently. It is now PA 504.

HB 4975, sponsored by state Rep. Margaret O'Brien, provides a framework for the regulation of Appraisal Management Companies. It is now PA 505.

HB 5302, sponsored by state Rep. Roy Schmidt, brings financial accountability and transparency to local road agencies by requiring standards for employee pay and benefits as a condition for receiving state road funds beginning Sept. 30, 2014, ensuring that transportation funds are maximized for the building of roads. It is now PA 506.

HB 5313, sponsored by state Rep. Brad Jacobsen, requires counties under this act to certify their compensation, retirement and health plans for employees to conform to certain standards as a condition of receiving state road funds beginning Sept. 30, 2014. Oakland County is the only county impacted by this legislation. It is now PA 507.

HB 5315, sponsored by state Rep. Patrick Somerville, amends the Mental Health Code to improve the safety and security of both patients and mental health professionals by allowing video security cameras to be used in common areas in psychiatric hospitals. It is now PA 508.

HB 5817, sponsored by state Rep. Paul Opsommer, expands prepayment of sales tax to diesel fuel and reduces the per gallon variance between the prepayment and the final sales tax by using a one month averaging period instead of a quarterly period. It is now PA 509.

HB 5557, sponsored by state Rep. Margaret O'Brien, revises the 2011 deadline in the process whereby downtown development authorities (DDAs) apply to the Department of Treasury for approval to receive State Education Tax (SET) revenues to be used to meet certain debt obligations. By extending the deadline, the bill allows the City of Kalamazoo DDA to receive SET revenues it otherwise would have lost. It is now PA 510.

HB 5673, sponsored by state Rep. Al Pscholka, modifies grant and loan programs under the Strategic Water Quality Initiatives Fund (SWQIF). It is now PA 511.

HB 4851, sponsored by state Rep. Phil Cavanagh, amends the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act by creating a definition of a bona fide physician-patient relationship and further defines an enclosed, locked facility and provides clarification on the transporting of medical marihuana in a motor vehicle. It is now PA 512.

HB 4853, sponsored by state Rep. Ed McBroom, amends the Code of Criminal Procedure to include a violation of the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act (MMMA) in the sentencing guidelines. The bill strengthens the MMMA by placing a penalty on registered qualifying patient's or registered qualifying caregivers who sell marihuana to an unauthorized person.  It is now PA 513.

HB 4834, sponsored by state Rep. Gail Haines, allows the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs to contract for the processing and issuance of medical marihuana registry identification cards to help eliminate delays. The bill also extends the period in which a registry card is valid from one year to two years and requires the department to appoint a review panel to review petitions received for other medical conditions in addition to those conditions currently authorized under the Medical Marihuana Act. It is now PA 514.

HB 5801, sponsored by state Rep. Ray Franz, enables Michigan to enter into a state and province emergency management assistance agreement, allowing Michigan to enter into an international mutual aid agreement with Canada. It is now PA 515.

SB 969, sponsored by state Sen. John Proos, allows a school district to qualify for special pupil membership counting provisions, as well as a seat time exemption, if the district operated a dropout recovery program that met specified criteria. It is now PA 516.

SB 1024, sponsored by state Sen. Roger Kahn, prohibits individuals with economic relationships with Iran from submitting bids on requests for proposals with the state, school districts, community college districts, intermediate school districts, cities, villages, townships, counties, public authorities, or public airport authorities to take effect April 1, 2013. It is now PA 517.

HB 5367, sponsored by state Rep. Chuck Moss, provides supplemental appropriations for FY 13 for the departments of Human Services and Treasury. The appropriations are for the Indigent Burial program and Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT). It is now PA 518.

HB 5830, sponsored by state Rep. Eileen Kowall, provides for capital outlay reforms that streamline the authorization process and ensure fiscal discipline by requiring that long-term debt obligations are accounted for in the budget when new projects are authorized. It is now PA 519.

SB 1350, sponsored by state Sen. Tom Casperson, allows the Natural Resource Commission (NRC) to create a gray wolf season in Michigan and establishes a wolf hunting license with associated fees. It removes the gray wolf from the furbearer list and adds it to the list of game species in Michigan. The bill establishes a wolf hunting license and sets fees for resident and non-resident licenses. It is now PA 520.

SB 1172, sponsored by state Sen. Darwin Booher, extends the mortgage foreclosure modification sunset until June 30, 2013. It is now PA 521.

SB 265, sponsored by state Sen. Tom Casperson, amends the Michigan Vehicle Code to create an exception to seasonal weight restrictions for vehicles transporting heating fuel, helping to resolve the problem of fuel haulers making multiple trips to service their customers. It is now PA 522.

SB 810, sponsored by state Sen. Goeff Hansen, amends the Michigan Election Law to allow cities more flexibility in scheduling voting dates to even year primary and general election dates, as well as putting into place a plan help ensure that overseas and military ballot deadlines are met. It also addresses previous concerns raised by the governor when he vetoed earlier legislation on this topic. The change now simply includes an opening U.S. citizen declarative statement on applications, alleviating voter confusion and removing the need for a separate citizenship checkbox while ensuring voters are properly qualified. It is now PA 523.

HB 4446, sponsored by state Rep. Margaret O'Brien, provides for the conditions under which a bank may retain the principal residence exemption (PRE) and to allow taxpayers to appeal to obtain the PRE at the July and December boards of review. It is now PA 524.

HB 5404, sponsored by state Rep. Dale Zorn, prohibits a land division or land plat that isolates a cemetery so that it is not accessible, and instead requires that cemeteries be served by easements that provide vehicular access. It is now PA 525.

HB 5422, sponsored by state Rep. Joe Haveman, enables colleges and community colleges to provide new employee training to new corrections officers, reducing costs that the Department of Corrections spends on training new recruits. Currently, all training of new recruits is held in Lansing. It provides for minimum standards and requirement that colleges and community colleges must follow. It is now PA 526.

HB 5600, sponsored by state Rep. Joe Haveman, permits a juvenile offender who has been adjudicated of not more than one felony or not more than three misdemeanors and who does not have an adult felony conviction to petition the adjudicating court(s) to set aside one felony adjudication and two misdemeanor adjudications, or up to three misdemeanor adjudications. This bill also provides a reduced timeframe of one year, instead of the current statutory timeframe of five years, in which the individual can petition the courts for the set-aside of adjudication(s). It is now PA 527.

HB 5459, sponsored by state Rep. Paul Opsommer, amends the Open Meetings Act to specify posting requirements for notices of special meetings or rescheduled meetings. It also establishes notice requirements for emergency public meetings and those meetings that fail to meet the 18-hour notice requirement. It is now PA 528.

HB 5487, sponsored by state Rep. Phil Potvin, allows authorized agents (weighmasters) of county road commissions to enforce activities related to the proper registration of commercial vehicles; and the height, weight, and width of vehicles and loads; and the safety of loads, among other things. It eliminates previous ambiguity regarding whether weighmasters are required to be certified as a police officer to enforce the code. It is now PA 529.

HB 5805, sponsored by state Rep. Lisa Lyons, creates the Health Care Sharing Ministries Freedom to Share Act and acknowledges these ministries are not subject to the Insurance Code of 1956 and are not engaged in the business of insurance in Michigan. It is now PA 530.