Vote on February 28
Avoid Wayne County Jury Duty
An inadvertent Get Out the Vote initiative slipped into defense attorney David Griem's Detroit press conference Friday, February 3, as he answered questions about one of his high-profile clients.
 On selection of any potential jury, Griem declared that if you “vote in the Republican primary” you are just the kind of citizen he'd exclude from jury duty, in the event his client is ever charged..
Apparently, Griem has had experience with Republican primary voters and believes they could have an aversion to secret dungeons, alternative lifestyles, or worse.
“Maybe that's why I started taking questions from the left,” he joked to the press.
You've been warned: unless you have time to spend sitting through a protracted trial, the safest course is to vote February 28.
 Pointer Clark Durant Speaks
At ERC's January 17 Forum
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Clark Durant will speak to the Eastside Republican Club on Tuesday, January 17.
The 7:30 p.m. event will be held at the Grosse Pointe War Memorial, 32 Lake Shore Road.
Durant, co-founder of Detroit's Cornerstone Schools, will present his vision for America and welcome questions from the audience.
Now a local attorney and Farms resident, Durant was born in Detroit in 1949 and attended Tulane University in New Orleans where he studied economics, graduating in 1971.
Durant was nominated by President Ronald Reagan and confirmed by the Senate to serve on the board of the Legal Services Corporation, which provides legal aid to low-income Americans. He served as its chairman from 1984 to 1988.
In 1991, Durant co-founded the Cornerstone Schools with Adam Cardinal Maida and other civic leaders as an independent, inner city school in Detroit. He served as chairman of the board until 2003, and as CEO from 2003 to 2009.
He helped establish Cornerstone charter schools in 2009 to increase access to a Cornerstone education in Detroit. >>More details here.
Supreme's Texas Ruling Bodes Well for Michigan
Michigan's redistricting can not be implemented without Federal pre-clearance. To expedite this, the Mitten State has asked a federal court to okay its redistricting plan. In the meantime, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in a Texas case. According to a July 21 New York Times report, "The unanimous decision said that redistricting is primarily a job for elected state officials...." >>Justices' Texas Redistricting Ruling Likely to Help G.O.P.
Eastside Republicans Elect New Officers
Members of the Eastside Republican Club elected officers and directors at the club's annual meeting at the Grosse Pointe War Memorial on January 17, 2012.
Elected were Jenny Nolan, chairman, Susan Gillooly, vice chairman, Mike Nolan, treasurer, and Marie Hackleman, secretary.
In addition, Mike Hennigan, Jermain Jones, and Cindy Pangborn were elected directors. >>See the photo.
  Pete Hoekstra Predicts
Michigan to Elect New Senator
“I will fight to pass a balanced budget, reduce government spending, eliminate senseless regulations, and help grow our economy," Pete Hoekstra promised the Eastside Republican Club during a November campaign stop.
With confidence, he said, “In 51 weeks we will have elected a new Senator.”
Of course, Hoekstra is working hard to be that new Senator, but his first objective is to win the August 7 Michigan Republican primary leading up to the November 2012 General Election.
“The sooner we unite behind a candidate, the better opportunity we'll have to turn the incumbent out,” he added.
Co-founder of the congressional Tea Party Caucus, Hoekstra boasted, “I signed the no-tax pledge.” It was his endorsement of the Americans for Tax Reform's Taxpayer Protection Pledge. >>More Hoekstra.
Check Out ERC's Social Networking Site
The Eastside Republican Club has launched a FreedomConnector web site to encourage networking of eastside conservatives and activists favoring less government/more freedom. >>Click to join our Eastside Republican Club Connector online group.
Races for Council, School Board
 Focus of Eastside's October Forum
More than a dozen local candidates pressed voters for support at the Grosse Pointe War Memorial as Eastside Republicans hosted their Candidates' Forum on October 18, 2011.
Voters got to see and hear the non-partisan candidates named on the municipal and public school board ballot in the upcoming November 8, 2011, election.
“An important feature of our Forum was the opportunity for our members and guests to hear candidates answer questions posed on the spot,” said Farms resident Jenny Nolan, Eastside Republican Club chairman.
ERC Board member Marie Hackleman of the Park agreed. “Having all the council candidates field questions together made for a great 'Q & A.' I think everyone was delighted with that dynamic and the excellent discussion it generated between the candidates, and with the audience!”
One of the hottest topics, judging from school board candidates Diane Karabetsos, Daniel Roeske and Lois Valente, isn't even on the November ballot.
The three, none of whom are incumbents, are competing for two seats on the Grosse Pointe Public School System's Board of Education.
They each expressed opposition to opening public school enrollment across district boundaries throughout Michigan, a measure not on any ballot but pending in the state legislature.
Another highlight of the Forum was an update by Katharine Barr, co-founder of Michigan Communities for Local Control, on the mandatory open enrollment bill pending in Lansing. >>Read more.
Noted Political Cartoonist Henry Payne
Displayed His Craft at September Forum
 “Good looking folks are hard to cartoonize,” admitted syndicated cartoonist Henry Payne speaking to the Eastside Republican Club Forum September 20.
But that didn't stop him from sketching cartoons on the spot featuring Governors Rick Perry, Sarah Palin, and Rick Snyder for his audience at the Grosse Pointe War Memorial in Grosse Pointe Farms.
Payne illustrated how he differentiates by emphasizing such characteristics as a “nerdy beanie,” ponytail or a ten-gallon hat.
Labeled “the Thomas Nast of his time" by National Review magazine, Payne creates his editorial drawings from a distinctly conservative point of view. More than a cartoonist, Payne also is a skilled and well-informed journalist whose investigative work has garnered national headlines.
As a credentialed member of the media, he said he sees first hand how most of the media is merely an “extension of Democrat Party,” using events such as national conventions to provide glowing press coverage for the left.
The Pulitzer Prize nominated cartoonist is prolific, producing five local editorial cartoons a week for The News. He also writes and draws a weekly column, “Payne & Ink.” His weekly “CAR-toon” -- a humorous look at America's car-crazy culture -- runs exclusively on The Detroit News' web site.
Payne is also editor of TheMichiganView.com, a lively, daily online political site commenting on Michigan news. That site is a service of The Detroit News, providing original commentary and a one-stop shop for the state's best opinion web sites on topics ranging from politics to autos. >>See Photos & More Payne.
Pointe's Maura Corrigan
Outlines Big DHS Changes
Showing a life-long concern for the welfare of Michigan children and families, Maura Corrigan, newly appointed director of the Department of Human Services, told of big changes underway at DHS in remarks to the Eastside Republican Club Forum.
“Great changes are taking place at the Department of Human Services,” she told her June 21 audience at the Grosse Pointe War Memorial.
Vowing that the DHS would assist Michigan's needy in their move to self-sufficiency, she noted, “an entitlement culture doesn't entitle you to much at all.”
At risk of being bogged down by an overwhelming caseload, the department's nearly $7 billion budget is getting a hike of $70 million for such things as the hiring hundreds of new caseworkers.
 The goal is to reduce the caseload per social worker, and thus improve the outcome for kids.
Although serving only since January 2011, Corrigan was pleased to report that the state now has only 344 children who are awaiting adoption, compared to as many as 4,000 not long ago.
To reign in the growing DHS budget, Corrigan said her department is determined to meet court-established guidelines, thus allowing Michigan to be released from federal oversight and the accompanying cost of reporting and attorney fees.
She said that waste, fraud, and abuse have contributed to Michigan's sky rocketing cost of administering “Bridge” cards, taxpayer-financed debit cards for those deemed in need of food assistance. Until recently, 1.9 million Michigan residents received this assistance.
As an example, she cited elimination of the automatic eligibility of some for food stamps. Although the move dropped 34,000 from the rolls, she said the action triggered very few appeals. Thousands of those dropped were full-time college students not otherwise qualified for assistance.
Next, she said asset verification would be in place by October 1, making Michigan one of five states checking assets before certifying eligibility.
In addition to keeping the lid on spending, this change will “redirect welfare to the truly needy and vulnerable, while cutting out the games,” Corrigan said. >>Read more.
 Justice Zahra Tells ERC Forum
'Rule of Law' is Winning the Debate
“The term, 'judicial activist' has become a dirty word!” declared Michigan Supreme Court Justice Brian K. Zahra speaking to the Eastside Republican Club Forum on May 17.
“Today, the rule of law is winning the debate,” he noted.
Yet Zahra cautioned, “Today, even liberal judges now describe themselves as 'rule of law' judges. But the difference is they mean 'rule of the judiciary.'”
Speaking to the gathering at the Grosse Pointe War Memorial in Grosse Pointe Farms, Zahra explained the difference between being ruled by law and being ruled by judges.
“When judiciary expands its power, it reduces the ability of the people to govern themselves. The courts overturn their intent and democracy is undermined,” he warned.
For example, he noted that after thousands of years, “In 2001 the people of Michigan found it necessary to define the word 'marriage.'”
Citizens had a choice. They could have either appealed to their lawmakers, or opted to exercise “direct democracy” to amending the constitution.
They chose direct democracy to cut off what a court might do through judicial activism.
“A rule of law judge,” Zahra explained, “is a judge who determines the intent of the lawmakers. This brings certainty and predictability to the law.” >>More about the May Forum with Justice Zahra.
Thanks for visiting ERC on the web, now meet us at the G.P. War Memorial
|
