REPUBLICAN PARTY VS TEA PARTY

A recent poll showed that more people would vote for the Tea Party than the GOP or DNC.  The tea party movement is clearly expanding, even though the MSM is still not recognizing it.  That is ok, we can do without them.  My question is, will the Tea Party emerge as a Third Party, will it integrate into the GOP or will the GOP let the Tea Party be the driving force and accept the principles of patriots, which really is just a comeback of the old GOP. As of now I believe the GOP is not getting it yet.  I see here in my own area there is still so much politics as usual.  You endorse me, I endorse you.   I have been very disappointed in some of the recent endorsements given to candidates solely by political pressures by either the party or some high paying or high ranking individual.  This has to stop if we want to stop corruption and payoff.

Now that Congress once again has shown that they refuse to listen to the people of this country, I think the tea party movement will become even stronger as we start the new year.

Having been involved with the Independence Caucus, http://www.icaucus.ning.com/ an organization that vetts conservative candidates.  Afer they pass their vetting questions and interviews, they receive the endorsement from Icaucus.  Volunteers will then help with the candidates' campaign.  I have found several such worthy candidates running for state or federal office.

In my new blogs for 2010 I will periodically write about these candidates, so they get a little more exposure, and hope that my readers will find a way to help support them.

HAINES ADDRESSES SCHOOL BUS SAFETY, COST CONCERNS

 Lawmaker testifies before House Transportation Committee to streamline bus reporting requirements
Michigan students will be safer on buses and schools will pay an estimated $600,000 less statewide through reforms approved today by the House Transportation Committee.

State Rep. Gail Haines today testified before the committee on her legislation to protect school children on buses and cut government red-tape costs.

"Nothing is more important than the safety of students, and this win-win legislation improves safety at a lower cost," said Haines, R-Waterford. "I'm hopeful for a quick passage by the full House to allow school districts to save money for drivers and school districts by streamlining safety training, and help bus drivers meet federal safety standards."

Haines' legislation, House Bill 5363, was introduced in September to:

• Streamline the requirements for our state's school bus drivers' safety education courses to ensure that bus drivers are not taking overlapping training courses at an added expense to drivers and/or school districts;

• Improve the requirement for medical exams to align them with federal standards; from requiring annual exams to requiring bi-annual exams for bus drivers unless there is a known health issue, again saving money for both drivers and districts; and

• Set a health safety standard for drivers with known illnesses, such as diabetes.

"As schools are faced with budget dilemmas, the safety of the children must remain a top priority," Haines said. "This is simply common-sense, money-saving legislation to cut red tape and bureaucracy in government while keeping our kids safe."

HB 5363, which was unanimously approved by the committee, now heads to the full House for consideration.

GARY PETERS APPROPRIATED 1.3 MILL FOR TROY/BIRMINGHAM TRANSIT CENTER

So, he squeezed out 1.3 Million for the Transit Center, which is to be located on the Troy/Birmigham boundaries.  The project will cost many more millions.  Where is that money coming from?  In the form of new revenues (spelled taxes) such as millages and property taxes to community residents?  Everyone just seems so happy Peters got this through, and I can see city officials now endorsing Peters.  Our roads and infastructure are in dire need of repair.  We have county roads that are still gravel and dirt, I live on one, it's not pleasant. This is what government is for and we are now building a transit system,  I forgot, tell me again why we are doing this.  Is it for the Green jobs?  Is it to bring Detroit residents to the suburbs to work?
Read the article here:
http://tinyurl.com/yad9ml6

Gary Peters needs to go, the sooner the better and we have to elect a conservative candidate that understands the people of Oakland County, that WANTS to WORK for US, and not the special interest groups that Peters works for.

DUMP GARY PETERS.

HELPING ANGEL AT WORK AGAIN

Troy Volunteer Brings Food & Friendship to Seniors

“He’s a ‘mega volunteer,’“ says Emerald Food Services Vice PresidentOperation Steve Haveraneck, in describing Jim Forrer and the work he does inthe community and for Meals on Wheels.You can find volunteer Forrer, a Troy resident and president of Media Marketing in Troy, preparing meals in Emerald Food Services' kitchen at theTroy Community Center every Thursday and then delivering the meals to local homebound older adults. Forrer, who has been in sales and marketing for 40 years, also stocks up on Lean Cuisine and KCF meals and spends his weekend personally delivering themto 10 or 15 local seniors who he knows would spend the weekend in hunger without his visit.“The experience of delivering home delivered meals to older adults over the past seven years has opened my eyes to how many seniors are truly suffering in our community, which is one of the richest counties in southeastern Michigan,”Forrer observes. “I visit seniors and people with disabilities every week who are sitting in dark rooms alone with little or nothing to eat and they are so grateful. If we all just do a little, we can truly make a difference.”One of Haveraneck’s and Forrer’s current goals is to get every politician in Lansing to make a Meals on Wheels run before they cut more money from the program. Cuts are slated for 15 percent this year and 25 percent next year.Haveraneck notes those cuts will that new people will not be added and some on the program may be cut.For the past two years Forrer has secured donations from companies and restaurants to provide a festiveThanksgiving celebration for residents at Clawson Manor, an independent living,affordable housing complex for people age 62 and older. This year, past sponsors were unable to contribute due to the economy and having to lay off their own employees. Instead the Knights of Columbus provided residents with a Thanksgiving meal and Forrer secured donations from family, friends and other local businesses and personally delivered food to local seniors who he knows are in need.Jim is also a member of the AAA 1-BAdvisory Council and a volunteer for CASA, the Salvation Army, and the RedCross.The Holiday Meals on Wheels(HMOW) program provides a warm,nutritious meal on the holidays to the most vulnerable individuals - homebound seniors who are no longer able to drive to the grocery store, have limited mobility, and are unable to cook their own meal. More than 37 percent of the program’s recipients are over age 84,and over 53 percent live alone.“These people are poor and lonely and it’s common that the only human contact they have in a day is with theMeals on Wheels volunteer,” Forrer points out knowingly.That visit often represents more than just food, but is a gift of friendship and compassion. “We have to care for our seniors,” Forrer stresses.Traditional government funding does not cover the cost of providing a home-delivered meal on holidays. TheArea Agency on Aging 1-B raises funds to provide Holiday Meals on Wheels onThanksgiving Day, Hanukkah, Christmas,New Year’s Day, Easter and Passover.The average cost of a holiday meal is$6.00. There are over a thousand seniors getting meals just through the programs Emerald Kitchens runs in 16 local communities!!!“The AAA 1-B relies on financial support from the public to fund these holiday deliveries and ensure that seniors do not spend these holidays hungry or alone,” said Abbate Marzolf, theAgency’s chief executive officer. “The volunteers spend time visiting with each of these seniors, sharing the spirit of the holiday season and delivering warmth,friendship and compassion.”If Gazette readers are interested in supporting Holiday Meals on Wheels by making a donation they can visit theArea Agency on Aging 1-B's website atwww.aaa1b.com, or call at (800) 852-7795. They can also call Emerald FoodService at 248-689-0001 to support meal delivery Monday through Friday.If Gazette readers are interested in volunteering, they can call Emerald FoodService at 248-689-0001. They need volunteers who will be there consistently,as our seniors are counting on them.

Let's all give Jim a big Thank You, and if you can spare some time or money, let's help our seniors.  The government, both federal and local keep taking from them.  Just think that could be you some day.

ROCKY ROLLS WITH HUGE 9TH DISTRICT STRAW POLL VICTORY

In the first test of grass roots strength in his bid to represent Michigan’s 9th District in the U.S. Congress, Rocky Raczkowski rolled to a huge victory over three opponents with nearly 60 percent of the vote in a straw poll held today. The poll was sponsored by the 9th District Republican Committee and hundreds of activists jammed into a banquet hall in Troy to cast their votes.

“With their votes, the grass roots said loud and clear they want a representative who works for them,” said Rocky. “I’m ready to go on a mission for the people of the 9th District.”

Rocky Raczkowski is a military veteran who served two combat tours in the Global War on Terror, business owner and former majority floor leader of the Michigan House of Representatives. For more information about Rocky, visit http://www.rockyworksforus.com/.

Rocky will also be featured at a congressional candidates forum to be held at the annual 9th District Christmas Party, 7:00 to 9:00 pm, Friday, December 11, 2009. The event will be at the home of Bob and Jan Gosselin, 5773 Sussex, Troy, Michigan. For more information, contact info@rockyworksforus.com or RSVP to mi9thgop@gmail.

9TH DISTRICT GOP PANCAKES AND POLITICS

I  just returned from the 9th GOP pancakes and politics. It was again surprising to me that Rick Snyder won the straw poll, and already he's announcing it all over Facebook. He certainly is a very smart businessman and I think economically he makes some sense. Having said that. Hoekstra, who won 3rd in the poll got my vote, not only for what he stands, i.e. fairtax, smaller government, right to work state etc, his presence demands some respect that I don't get from the other candidates. Here is a video of Hoekstra at the event:

From all the candidates for Sec of State, Michele McManus seems to be the most conservative, a real firecracker full of spunk and energy and she got my vote, too.

The candidates for congress did not get to talk today, but they made the rounds and Rocky Raczakowski won by a great margin, with Paul Welday in 2nd, and the 2 new ones following with very few votes.

The room was packed and  it was exciting to see so much interest and energy.

HELPING ANGELS, SERVING THE UNDERSERVED

Meals delivered to the elderly and disabled also provide food for the soul

By Nancy Nall Derringer (Hour Detroit)

Volunteer Jim Forrer (above) has been making his meal-delivery rounds for three years.

Photographs by Cybelle CodishJust two miles away from the Somerset Collection, inside the temple to suburban recreation and socializing that is the Troy Community Center, a handful of ordinary people are staving off hunger.

Not their own hunger, but that of others. The kind that threatens when you’re old, sick, or disabled and your life has dwindled to your four walls, and you look forward to the person who knocks every day and hands over your Meals on Wheels delivery — typically a hot tray of meat with two vegetables and a cold pack of a sandwich and a couple of sides for later. For many, it’s all they’ll eat in a day. And the person who hands it over may be the only other person they see.

With the holidays approaching, food is a special concern. This ordinary Wednesday meal, arranged and paid for by the Area Agency on Aging, 1-B, is one thing, but holidays are not covered, and require special fundraising. If the elderly and disabled people served by the agency are to have any holiday meal at all, it will have to be paid for outside the regular budget. But then, Meals on Wheels has a lot of off-the-books elements.

Take Jim Forrer. He’s a volunteer driver, one of dozens who buy their own gas and use their own vehicles to deliver Meals on Wheels. For three years, he’s been making the rounds, getting to know his clients. Many are people he describes as “orphans” — those for whom a long life has led them to a lonely place, that of last man standing. “Hiding in the dark corners are people who have been put away by their families who have been forgotten, who have simply fallen through the cracks,” he says. “They’ve outlived everyone, even their children.”

Some have difficulty caring for themselves, either because of decreased mobility, incipient dementia, or depression. One day, one of Forrer’s clients asked him if he smelled gas, and he offered to check the basement. The furnace seemed fine, he said, but maybe the water heater was the problem.

“Oh, that doesn’t work,” she said. For how long? he asked. Three years, she told him — three Michigan winters without hot water.

Forrer pulled some strings and got the appliance repaired. But it and all his other experiences taught him something: All is not well, even in the upmarket suburbs.

Forrer formed his own charity, Helping Angels. He wrangles food donations, calls in favors, begs restaurants for handouts (the Capital Grille has been a big supporter), hits drive-through windows at fast-food places, whatever works to help him get whatever he can for the aging, disabled, and poverty-stricken of Oakland County. He knows that if he didn’t come by on weekends, some of them would go hungry between Friday and Monday deliveries.

People like Forrer, “the people who go door-to door, are the ones who see the most,” says Sallie Justice, communications manager for the Area Agency on Aging, 1-B. The agency relies on the volunteers to tell them when a client has tipped into a zone where intervention is needed, although even that can be difficult.

“Most people don’t want to leave their homes,” Justice says.

That’s understandable, and so this group at the Troy Community Center — volunteers and employees of Emerald Food Service, which has the food-preparation contract — is set up to feed Oakland County’s poor, disabled, and elderly on this day. The cooks place steam-table trays on a table and put instant-read thermometers into them for a final check; the food must be 160 degrees both for safety and so that when the trays arrive, they’re still hot enough for a satisfying meal. Today’s menu is a barbecued pork riblet, potato wedge, and peas.

Starting the line is Kirk Morgan, the cook who oversaw its preparation.

It’s not much of a process: Fill three holes in a tray, send the tray through the sealer, and pack them into heated delivery bags. The food is prepared according to strict nutrition guidelines; that potato wedge may look like a McDonald’s hash brown, but it’s not deep-fried, and the riblet is boneless for a reason. Many of the people who get it lost the ability to gnaw meat from bones a long time ago.

The holidays are rapidly approaching, and the agency is again doing its fundraising for Christmas, Hanukkah, and New Year’s Day. Seven thousand people in their six-county territory will get these meals, which cost about $6. The need is great every year, but recent economic calamities are expected to add to the burden.

It’s hard to overemphasize how tenuous some of these old people’s lives are. When gas went up to $4 a gallon in the summer of 2008, many called the agency in a panic, fearful the economic pressure would cause volunteers to abandon their routes, and then how would they eat?

“We told them we’d get it there if we had to ride bicycles,” Forrer says. It hasn’t come to that, but the need is great just the same.

Donations may be made through the agency’s Web site: http://aaa1b.com/. Or givers can call the agency at 800-852-7795.

(I am honored to say that Jim is a family member and passionate about his charities)  Way to go Jim.