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Monday, June 29, 2015

Developing: Dennis Lennox Fired, Morning Sun Purges Every Column He's Ever Written

Lennox, right, at the 2012 GOP convention in Florida
 

By Brandon Hall
(Email him at WestMiPolitics@Gmail.com)


Controversial Republican activist Dennis Lennox has been fired from the Mount Pleasant Morning Sun, allegedly for some sort of ethical issue according to multiple sources. Also noteworthy: the paper has deleted every single column Lennox has ever written for them over the years from their website...



Many of  the columns are still available HERE on Lennox's personal website.

>>>Dennis The Menace: Why Is Lennox (And Others) Lying About A Closed Prmary? Who Benefits?


It is unclear if this has anything to do with Lennox  making false claims while attacking Senator Rand Paul and the prospect of modifying the Michigan GOP's primary system, all while neglecting to mention to Morning Sun readers he is (as it's rumored to be but unconfirmed) working with Saul Anuzis on behalf of Senator Ted Cruz. (THink Clintons/George Stephanopoulos)

Lennox falsely accused Paul of trying to "undermine" the process and not "playing by the rules" while trying to implement a "smoke filled back room" to replace the primary...

"So much for playing by the rules.

The presidential campaign of Sen. Rand Paul is doing whatever it takes to circumvent the well-established norms and rules of the Republican nomination process to help the junior senator from Kentucky.

At stake is Michigan’s impeccable record of fair and honest elections. Thousands of active-duty military personnel, senior citizens and college students who rely upon absentee voting would be disenfranchised from having a say if either of the Paul campaign’s alternatives — a smoke-filled backroom caucus, or a state Republican convention of about 1,900 delegates — is chosen to replace the primary.

Every other declared or all-but-declared GOP presidential candidate is fine with the primary election as set by state law for March 8 of next year.

Only Paul seeks to undermine the process, which allowed more than 900,000 Michiganians to have their say during the 2012 Republican primary."
Senators Cruz, left, and Paul, right (photo via the Washington Times)


It's MICHIGANDERS, not Michiganians! Ugh. Among other B.S. things against Rand in there...

Lennox has previously come under fire for, among other things, hacking the Wikipedia page of Ingham County Commissioner and well known Democrat political consultant Mark Grebner to say he was a "homosexual" and "child molester." Grebner successfully sued Lennox for the incident.

He also frequently attacks Dave Agema for divisive rhetoric yet has no problem smearing people like Grebner with anti-gay slurs and calls the Tea Party wing of the party "the Taliban wing," among other hateful quips. Anyway....Stay tuned.
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Brandon Hall is a lifelong political nerd from Grand Haven, and is the Managing Editor of West Michigan Politics.
>>>Email him at WestMiPolitics@Gmail.com 

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Photo By Darlene Dowling Thompson

Resurrection: Cross Displayed At Grand Haven's Dewey Hill After Resident Fights Back

A boater keeps the Dewey Hill Cross tradition alive by displaying a cross at the foot of the hill during Sunday's WOW services (Photo by Laura Potter)
 

By Brandon Hall   
(Email him at WestMiPolitics@Gmail.com)


Mitch Kahle may have thought for the first time in over 50 years no Cross would be displayed in the Dewey Hill vicinity Sunday night, but a local unknown Cross supporter had other plans.

While the official "Dewey Hill Cross" was not raised Sunday evening after a preliminary injunction to stop the City of Grand Haven's Resolution 15-013 was denied Friday, one area resident took matters into his own hands, refusing to let over 50 years of tradition in Grand Haven die. 

>>>Judge Rejects Grand Haven Cross Injunction, Wants Full Briefs And Arguments


He parked his boat affixed with a large Cross on the back of it  right on the shores of Dewey Hill during the first of 10 "Worship on the Waterfront" services for the summer. Just like the original Dewey Hill Cross, it was put up by a private citizen.

(The original Cross was displayed to celebrate Christmas in 1962 and was spontaneously put up by private citizens.)

With two lawsuits pending against the City, private residents displaying the Cross in yards all over town and on the shores of Dewey Hill during WOW services, matters are just starting to heat up as November elections rapidly approach. If the pro Cross candidate wins, the votes needed to reverse the resolution will be there, and it's likely the Nativity will be back up before the end of the year.

Anyone who thought the sneaky January 5th vote that took place during a quasi-blizzard and right after New Year's weekend would be the end of the controversy in Grand Haven was severely and completely mistaken.
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Brandon Hall is a lifelong political nerd from Grand Haven, and is the Managing Editor of West Michigan Politics.
>>>Email him at WestMiPolitics@Gmail.com 

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Photo By Darlene Dowling Thompson



Friday, June 26, 2015

Quick Note Re: "Off The Record"

A quick note regarding "Off The Record." My appearance will be rescheduled, and instead, I got to spend much of Thursday tied up with a Urologist over a kidney stone issue.

I'll let you know about that when it happens-the OTR appearance, I promise no more mention of kidney stones-at least no other details haha :) Thankfully, they are *relatively* small, but still horrendous....

Just an update as obviously I am not on this week's show...Make sure to tune in, Skubick is one of the best around!

Judge Rejects Grand Haven Cross Injunction, Wants Full Briefs And Arguments

For the first time since the controversial vote, the City has put up the anchor requested by Mitch Kahle Friday morning, June 26th


By Brandon Hall   
(Email him at WestMiPolitics@Gmail.com)


Ottawa County Circuit Court Judge Jon Hulsing has denied my request to temporarily stop the City of Grand Haven from enforcing its resolution outlawing the Dewey Hill Cross while litigation ensues.

In an order issued Friday morning, Hulsing rejected the motion, saying "Prior to any ruling on injunctive relief, the Court will require this matter be adequately briefed and argued."

The Grand Haven Tribune described the issue this way:

"Hall asks that a temporary restraining order be placed to keep the city from enforcing its Jan. 5 resolution, aimed at allowing the Dewey Hill cross to be displayed during Worship on the Waterfront services until a hearing on his request for a preliminary injunction. He requests a show-cause hearing as to why a preliminary injunction should not be granted, and to have that hearing within 14 days, or by June 26 if a temporary restraining order is not granted.

The preliminary injunction, if granted, would force the city not to implement the resolution while the case is being litigated.

Hall’s final request is that the court enter judgment stating that the resolution is illegal and in violation of the Elliot-Larsen Civil Rights Act; and unconstitutional, in violation of the Michigan and U.S. constitutions.

“The Dewey Hill cross is part of a Grand Haven tradition that shouldn't end because of Mitch Kahle's Christian bullying and legal threats,” Hall said. “In seeking this injunction, I am following the advice of Hawaii state Sen. Sam Slom, who dealt with Kahle's legal terror for many years. Sen. Slom suggested in a recent newspaper article that people seek injunctions to stop Kahle, and that is what this attempts to do."

A local church hosts worship services at Waterfront Stadium on Sunday evenings, which has included the raising of a cross across the river at Dewey Hill. This summer’s Worship on the Waterfront series begins June 28."

Judge Jon Hulsing (Grand Haven Tribune)

 The following statement was given to a requesting media outlet:

"Judge Hulsing has rejected my request to temporarily stop the City from enforcing the Dewey Hill Cross resolution, he wants full briefs and arguments on the issue. While the City has (as of this morning) put up the anchor and Mitch Kahle's coup is complete for now, make no mistake, like in Hager Park, his victory is only temporary.

If the Courts don't provide relief, City residents will elect a Pro Cross candidate in November, and this horrible resolution will be overturned by Council in time to bring back the Nativity! I have no regrets trying this legal hail mary route, and will continue to fight Kahle. It's wrong to bully people- whether it's economically or racially based, targeting gay and transgender kids...It's also wrong to attack and bully Christians in the way Mitch has done again and again for many years-it won't work here."


Grand Haven's Dewey Hill Cross on display during a 9/11 ceremony
 
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Brandon Hall is a lifelong political nerd from Grand Haven, and is the Managing Editor of West Michigan Politics.
>>>Email him at WestMiPolitics@Gmail.com 

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Photo By Darlene Dowling Thompson

OUTRAGE: Media Silent As U of M Prof Blames Jews For Charleston Massacre

University of Michigan Prof. Juan Cole (Photo by The New Republic)


By Brandon Hall   
(Email him at WestMiPolitics@Gmail.com)

Hail to the bigots? As South Carolina mourns, a controversial Professor at the University of Michigan is under fire for disgusting, bigoted comments implicating members of the Jewish faith as responsible for the Charleston shooting by Dylan Roof that left 9 dead and the country shaken.

Juan Cole, a professor with a long history of Anti-Jewish rhetoric, wrote just days after the shooting that:

"It was apparently similar writings and web sites that made Roof “completely racially aware.”
Unhinged millionaires and bigoted gadflies have a network funded by tens of millions of dollars. It is aimed at disenfranchising Muslim Europeans and Muslim-Americans and putting them under social pressure.

Ironically, some groups connected to the Islamophic Network are, like Geller and Pipes, Jewish. But their anti-immigrant, anti-Arab and anti-Muslim rhetoric backfired on them in Roof’s case, since he went on heartily to hate Jews, as well. Many American Jews, he held, are pro-African-American, and so he abhorred them, as well.

That far right wing Jews would be trying to teach white people to hate non-Christians boggles the mind, since nothing could be more injurious to the American and European Jewish communities.

But the biggest irony is that their agitation against European Muslims should have helped inspire Roof in South Carolina to kill 9 African-Americans."

 Blame the Jews, jeez! Next, it will be "the gays" fault or the AMERICAN flag will be blamed...It's always the fault of someone else, isn't it? Never the shooter...

Cole is a well known Professor according to his Wikipedia page, and was accused of being a "Muslim apologist" by Atheist activist Christopher Hitchens.

The University of Michigan should denounce this type of extreme and hateful rhetoric, and Cole should apologize. Don't expect too much from "The People's Republic of Ann Arbor," but even this should be too extreme for liberal elites in one of Michigan's most vibrant areas. Jewish students, like all others, should be part of a welcoming campus environment, and Cole's actions raise severe concerns.

Juan Cole's website







  



>>>Just like with Meekhof's Senate Scandals, the Michigan media is largely silent-as Cole makes national headlines...

Michigan Prof Blames Charleston Shooting On Jews, Islamophobia

Daily Caller - ‎Jun 24, 2015‎
“The Muslim-hatred of the Geert Wilders and Marine LePens in Europe, for which Daniel Pipes, and Pamela Geller, and the whole Islamophobic network are cheerleaders and enablers, was a key influence on Dylann Roof, according to his manifesto,” Cole ...

Juan Cole, University of Michigan professor, blames Charleston shootings on Jews...

Washington Times - ‎Jun 24, 2015‎
But their anti-immigrant, anti-Arab and anti-Muslim rhetoric backfired on them in Roof's case, since he went on heartily to hate Jews, as well. Many American Jews, he held, are pro-African-American, and so he abhorred them, as well,” Mr. Cole continued.

U. Michigan Professor Blames 'Far Right Wing Jews' for Charleston Shooting

Mediaite - ‎Jun 24, 2015‎
Juancole1-e1435173966396-300x197 University of Michigan history professor Juan Cole wrote a blog post Sunday blaming “Islamophobes” and “far right wing Jews” for shaping the racist views of Charleston shooter Dylann Storm Roof, despite no evidence ...

Michigan prof: Right-wing Jews, 'Islamophobic' network contributed to ...

The College Fix - ‎Jun 24, 2015‎
The University of Michigan's Juan Cole has a rather interesting take on Dylann Roof's murders of nine people in Charleston, South Carolina. He says Roof's “manifesto” shows that the “same hatemongers helped whip Norwegian white supremacist and ...
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Brandon Hall is a lifelong political nerd from Grand Haven, and is the Managing Editor of West Michigan Politics.
>>>Email him at WestMiPolitics@Gmail.com 

Facebook

Photo By Darlene Dowling Thompson

Saturday, June 20, 2015

"Straight, Gay, Religious, Non-Religious," Courser Says Marriage Legislation Works For Everyone


 
By Brandon Hall   
(Email him at WestMiPolitics@Gmail.com)

Most Michigan media is completely ignoring a part of State Rep. Todd Courser's marriage reform legislation that allows any two individuals who don't want a religious based marriage to be able to file an affidavit of marriage with their local county clerk.

Despite false claims Courser wants to make traditional, religious-based marriage mandatory in Michigan, Courser tells West Michigan Politics:

"We want legislation that works for everyone. It's a set of three bills to get government officials out of the marriage business if the Supreme Court rules for gay marriage. I will be glad to work through any details so it works for everyone-straight, gay, religious, non-religious. We will need to have a very public discussion on it and then come up with a final solution that works for everyone. The main thrust is to get the officiating totally out of government, and move to protect the clergy (who don't wish to perform gay marriages."

And remember-part of HB 4733 says that Michiganders not wanting to have a religious ceremony may file an affidavit of marriage with their County Clerk:

"a marriage that is not contracted by a formal ceremony according to section 1( 2) may be acknowledged by filing an affidavit of common law marriage with the county clerk. The affidavit of common law marriage shall be signed by both parties, notarized, and must include all of the following:

(a) The place where each party resides.

(b) The full legal name and age of each party as they appear on or are calculable from a certified copy of the birth certificate, the current driver license or state personal identification card, the current passport or visa, or any other certificate, license, or document issued by or existing under the laws of any nation or of any state, or a political subdivision of any state, that is accepted as proof of identity and age.

(c) The full name by which each party will be known after the marriage, which shall become the full legal name of the party upon filing of the marriage certificate.

(d) That the parties are not disqualified from or incapable of entering into marriage."

Courser's legislation has gained a lot of attention, with media outlets making some interesting claims:

CBS Detroit: "Michigan Bill Would Require All Marriages To Be Sanctioned By Religion"

Patch.Com: "Clever' Bills Would Require Clergy to Bless All Marriages"

Detroit News: "Bills would require clergy to sign off on marriages"

>>>Courser Introduces Legislation Ending State Involvement In Marriage As SCOTUS Ruling Draws Near

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Brandon Hall is a lifelong political nerd from Grand Haven, and is the Managing Editor of West Michigan Politics.
>>>Email him at WestMiPolitics@Gmail.com 

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Photo By Darlene Dowling Thompson





Worst Mass Killing At A School In U.S. History Was In Michigan-And Not A Single Gun Was Fired



By Brandon Hall 
(Email him at WestMiPolitics@Gmail.com)

Terror at a church in Charleston has brought gun and school violence back to the forefront of the national discussion this week, and when asked where the deadliest mass killing at a school in U.S. history occurred, almost all Americans would guess Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, or Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virgina. Some might say Columbine in Littleton, Colorado.

They would all be wrong. Unless they guessed Bath, Michigan.

In 1927, a deadly terror attack killing 38 innocent school kids and 5 adults happened at the Bath School, perpetrated by a disgruntled school board member. And not a single gun was fired.

"Some time between May 16 and the morning of May 18, 1927, Kehoe murdered his wife. Then on the morning of May 18 at about 8:45 a.m., he set off various incendiary devices on his homestead that caused the house and other farm buildings to be destroyed by the explosives' blast and the subsequent fires.
Almost simultaneously, an explosion devastated the north wing of the school building, killing 36 schoolchildren and two teachers. Kehoe had used a timed detonator to ignite hundreds of pounds of dynamite and incendiary pyrotol, which he had secretly planted inside the school over the course of many months. As rescuers began working at the school, Kehoe drove up, stopped, and used a rifle to detonate dynamite inside his shrapnel-filled truck, killing himself, the school superintendent, and several others nearby, as well as injuring more bystanders. During rescue efforts at the school, searchers discovered an additional 500 pounds (230 kg) of unexploded dynamite and pyrotol connected to a timing device set to detonate at the same time as the first explosions; the material was hidden throughout the basement of the south wing. Kehoe had apparently intended to blow up and destroy the entire school..."
a single grey-haired man dressed in a dark suit and white shirt, is looking directly at the photographer, while sitting in a chair at a table while apparently holding up a cigar
Bath School Killer Andrew Kehoe

Churchill famously said, "The farther backward you can look, the farther forward you can see."

As politicians are so quick to use the latest tragedy in South Carolina to push agendas-nine innocent Americans gunned down while at church in a sickening display of evil-it's important to remember that the problems in this country aren't simply because of guns.

We have always had to deal with fellow citizens who have hate in their heart that causes them to commit evil acts throughout our history.

I don't have all the answers and I don't know what the perfect system looks like, but to ignore the mental health and other factors involved and use cases like South Carolina solely to pass gun control laws is disappointing, counterproductive, and won't stop an event like this from happening again. It just won't.

For once, can't we just mourn the victims of a tragedy instead of pushing an agenda? And once agendas start getting "pushed," can we get real about mental health reform in this country and what that might look like?

People like Dylan Roof or Andrew Kehoe will kill with or without guns.So why should you not be able to protect yourself and your family or fellow community members from evil thugs like these two, as law abiding gun owners have done time and time again?

I'll listen to President Obama when he gives up his armed security team strapped with dozens of guns...

>>Read more about the Bath School Disaster below, via Wikipedia, which has a thorough and well sourced page on the topic:

"Telephone operators stayed at their stations for hours to summon doctors, undertakers, area hospitals and anyone else who might help. The Lansing Fire Department sent several firefighters and its chief.[31]
The local physician, Dr. J. A. Crum and his wife, a nurse, had both served in World War I, and had returned to Bath to open a pharmacy. After the explosion the Crums turned their drugstore into a triage center with the dead bodies being taken to the town hall, which was being used as a morgue.

Hundreds of people worked in the wreckage all day and into the night in an effort to find and rescue any children pinned underneath. Area contractors had sent all their men to assist, and many other people came to the scene in response to the pleas for help. Eventually, 34 firefighters and the Chief of the Lansing Fire Department arrived on the scene, as did several Michigan State Police officers, who managed traffic to and from the scene. The injured and dying were transported to Sparrow Hospital and St. Lawrence Hospital in Lansing. The construction of the latter facility had been financed in large part by Lawrence Price, Nellie Kehoe's uncle and formerly an executive in charge of Oldsmobile's Lansing Car Assembly.

 Michigan Governor Fred W. Green arrived during the afternoon of the disaster and assisted in the relief work, carting bricks away from the scene. The Lawrence Baking Company of Lansing sent a truck filled with pies and sandwiches, which were served to rescuers in the township's community hall..

People from all around the world provided sympathy to the families and the community of Bath, Michigan, including letters from some Italian schoolchildren. One 5th grader wrote: "Even though we are small, we understand all the sorrow and misfortune that has struck our dear brothers..." And another: "We are praying to God to give to the unfortunate mothers and fathers, the strength to bear the great sorrow that has descent on them, we are near to you in spirit...

Vehicles from outlying areas and surrounding states descended upon Bath by the thousands. Over 100,000 vehicles passed through on Saturday alone, an enormous amount of traffic for the area. Some Bath citizens regarded this armada as an unwarranted intrusion into their time of grief, but most accepted it as a show of sympathy and support from surrounding communities.[46] Many of the victims were buried starting Friday, May 20...

Governor Fred Green quickly called for donations to aid the townspeople[3] and created the Bath Relief Fund with the money supplied by donors, the state, and local governments. People from around the country donated to the fund.
brass plaque listing the people's names who died during the disaster (with the exception of the Kehoes, fixed to a large  boulder
Plaque at the entrance of Bath
   
School resumed on September 5, 1927, and, for the 1927–1928 school year, was held in the community hall, township hall, and two retail buildings. Most of the students returned. The board appointed O. M. Brant of Luther, Michigan, to succeed Huyck as superintendent. The Lansing architect Warren Holmes donated construction plans, and the school board approved the contracts for the new building on September 14. On September 15, Michigan's Republican U.S. Senator James J. Couzens presented his personal check for $75,000 (roughly $1,018,000 in today's money)[36] to the Bath construction fund to build the new school




The board demolished the damaged portion of the school and constructed a new wing with the donated funds. The "James Couzens Agricultural School," named for the senator, was dedicated on August 18, 1928.[58] The Kehoe farm was completely plowed to ensure that no explosives were hidden in the ground and was sold at auction to pay the mortgage."









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Brandon Hall is a lifelong political nerd from Grand Haven, and is the Managing Editor of West Michigan Politics.
>>>Email him at WestMiPolitics@Gmail.com 

Facebook

Photo By Darlene Dowling Thompson