Eureka Iron Works

Even If Kwame Goes, He'll Be Back

Ah, Kwame's situation is the gift that keeps on giving, right through the election.  It will keep Barack away, for what that's worth.  

But even if he resigns or is forced from office, he can come back.  I offer 2 words to justify this statement:  Marion Barry.

You remember him, the crackhead Mayor of Washington DC.  After he was caught on tape doing crack in a hotel room he was booted from office, and then elected by the idiot voters in DC to the City Council.

So, regardless of what happens to Kwame in the removal hearings, plea agreements, trials and various tribulations, remember that the same idiot voters who condone his current behavior, and also keep reelecting his momma will re-elect him if they get a chance.

Us suburbanites can whine and complain, but there's not a damn thing we can do about it. 

PFFT. Wiping Diet Coke From Monitor

Read this from Dave Barry....

"It's hard to blame Sen. Clinton for being bitter. Here she is, the smartest human ever, PLUS she spent all those years standing loyally behind Bill Clinton wearing uncomfortable panty hose (I mean that Hillary was, not Bill) (although there are rumors), PLUS she went to the trouble and expense of acquiring a legal residence in New York state so she could be a senator from there, PLUS she assembled a team of nuclear-physicist-grade genius political advisers, PLUS she spent years going around to every dirtbag community in America explaining in detail her 23-point policy solutions for every single problem facing the nation including soybean blight. And after all that, she loses the nomination to a guy who has roughly the same amount of executive governmental experience as Hannah Montana. Hillary is like, "Are you KIDDING me?"

Classic.

Irony, Democratic Style

Couldn't resist this one from Don Surber:  

“The Democrats have suddenly developed a keen sense of morality. John Edwards has been banned from making a speech at the democratic convention for having an affair and lying about it.  Bill Clinton will be speaking in his place.”

Hee Hee.  

The UAW: Trying to Make Stuff More Expensive for All of Us

Boy, does it suck to be in a battleground state.  Since Michigan is in play, we have to deal with pandering candidates, a continuous stream of advertisements and those wonderful robocalls.  

As a diversion, I've begun to notice the new ad campaign by the UAW.  It's well done, and focuses on nice union folks telling us how they think that child labor is bad (DUH), how we should force other countries to be environmentally benign, and how folks in Vietnam only make 12 cents an hour which is just sooo bad blah blah blah.  Certainly, we understand those are virtuous objectives. 

But why would the UAW care about how the Chinese handle environmental issues or child labor? It's because they are trying to make things cost more for our international trading partners, and therefore hopefully retain more jobs in the US.  While a nice objective, their commercials overlook one thing:  those initiatives would have the result of raising costs for all the products that we purchase.

We already have options.  If you don't want to buy some sneakers from China at Wal-Mart, you can buy union made American sneakers at another shop for twice the price.  A huge majority of folks opt for the cheaper product, but you do have the option.  It's called capitalism.  

The UAW does not want you to have that capitalist choice, and would rather force you to make a decision favorable to them.  It's just like the Teachers Unions who are trying to prevent vouchers, or the environmental wackos who got Congress to outlaw incandescent light bulbs. 

The UAW has already lost the battle with the transplant car companies, and they are sucking air regarding recruitment.  Their intransigence has contributed to the decline of our auto companies, and they have sold out their members on health care (see VEBA).  

If the UAW and their members want to pay more for stuff, go head.  But don't take away my options as a consumer.  If I have to spend more money on various products, I might have to buy a cheap used Toyota instead of a more expensive UAW-built American car in a few years when the Oldsmobile gets retired.  

How To Pick Up Democratic Women

Rarely do events conspire to provide the potential for humor like this:  Imagine Superdelegates Kwame Kilpatrick and John Edwards standing together on the Democratic Convention floor in Denver, exchanging tips on "how to pick up democratic women."  It probably goes something like this:

KK:  Yo, John!

JE:  Kwame!

KK:  Sorry about your wife being sick and all.  How did she find out?

JE:  The same way as yours did.  The Press.

KK:  Yeah, those Mofos don't know when to keep their mouth shut.  

JE:  Yup, those B***tards from the Enquirer followed me around LA for like weeks!

KK:  Gotcha.  Elizabeth handling things?

JE:  About as well as Carlita.  She move out yet, or what?

KK:  Practically,  She keeps going to Jacksonville and won't answer the phone.    

JE:   Hear you need another lawyer.

KK:  Couldn't hurt.  That jackal prosecutor just won't give up, or cut a deal.  I sent half the Detroit business community over to her office and she didn't budge.  Actually, can you make some kind of motion to get this d**n ankle braclet off?  It's chafing.  But the chicks to dig it.  

JE:  Hear that.  

BO: What the F**K are you two doing here?  I thought they were going to stop you at the door?  If I'm seen with you I'll lose the spurned white lady vote.  Get the hell outa here!

And then the FoxNews cameras show up.

Ignoring the Olympics

My project to ignore the Olympics continues.  I had a buddy visit for a few days from out of town.  We took a walk instead of watching the opening ceremonies. 

We went to see the new Batman Movie at the IMAX on Saturday.

On Sunday we went to the Thunder over Michigan Air Show at Willow Run.

Monday, we went to Slows BBQ downtown (near the soon to be ruins of Tiger Stadium.)  If you like southern BBQ its the real thing, and the macaroni and cheese is the best on the planet, as is the mustard sauce.  Trust me on that one. 

Tuesday we went to Bass Pro Shops up in Auburn Hills.  

Tonight I'm blogging.   I did see an article where the Commies switched the little girl who sang the opening ceremony.  

They are Commies.  What do you expect?  

Nothing to see here....move along.

Vote For Waters on August 5

If you happen to vote "Democratic" tomorrow in the Michigan Primary, you should check Mary Waters for the 13th Congressional District.  It's a pretty easy choice.  Carolyn Kilpatrick is not fit to continue in office. 

No one, however, seems to articulate the reason for her poor showing in current polls.  While it's clear that the issue is her son, why would this translate into support for her opposition?  It's because people believe that she has broken the public trust.  

Kwame has not been convicted, much less tried for his crimes.  However, anyone in Detroit with a pulse and a TV knows what he did.  It's quite clear that he is unfit for the office he holds, regardless of the fact that the Detroit electorate may or may not think otherwise. 

But I view his mother, the progenitor of his political ambitions, as being the both the cause and enabler of his behavior in office.  Whenever I hear her say "we should let the legal process run its course" I'm hearing, "regardless of what he did, I don't think he should step down unless he's convicted."

She is, therefore, jointly responsible for perpetuating this farce on the Detroit metro area.  The fact that she will not denounce these shenanigans is proof positive that she doesn't give a rat's ass about honor, integrity and those other intangibles that we are supposed to elect people for.  

I'll vote for the Republican in the general election, of course, but it would be nice to see a bit of integrity from the Democrats in our midst for a change.  

Oh, and if you do vote for Waters, don't tell Wyandotte's Pimp Daddy Mayor.....

Smoke, Meet Mirrors

Well, the City of Wyandotte is embarking on its next windmill building exercise by earmarking over $1 million for the repair and renovation of the old Masonic Temple.  You can read about it here:

News Herald: City offers financing plan for old Masonic Temple

It's quite interesting to see the budget manipulations needed to fund this project.  The fact that the City has to resort to measures such as this is merely an indication that this project is a loser.  Sure, they will eventually finish cleaning up the building and getting the DDA (ha!) and some other City functions working over there, and certainly there will be some art things going on.  If you listen to the Mayor, the restoration of the Masonic Temple will make Wyandotte the new center of art in the downriver area, and waves of hippies and other art types will descend upon Wyandotte, buying up all the empty houses and making thing real cool.  Coffee shops and piercing parlors will line Biddle avenue, and. . . . . 

But where's the value to the community?  Including acquisition costs, we will spend over $1.5 million dollars on this thing.  For artists.  Sure, thats really nice.  But I would submit we have many other challenges in town like funding pensions, buying new fire trucks, fixing the roads, updating water mains and keeping the roads clear of snow.  

And I don't want to hear anyone saying "oooo, but that money is from different funds and can't be used for those purposes you stated."  Bullshit.  If they can resort to some of the methods in the News-Herald article to move money around, they can use it to fund some pensions. 

Just because you CAN do something, it doesn't mean you should.  I'm still waiting for the Main Street Plan our DDA and vaunted Executive Director were promising us they would create.