You won't believe what Michigan Democrats want to do now!

Over the weekend I came across an editorial at the Detroit News with the following title - "An iPod for every kid? Are they !#$!ing idiots?" That made me curious so I clicked the headline to read the full article. What I read made me wonder if this was a late April Fool's joke or something.

From the Detroit News:

We have come to the conclusion that the crisis Michigan faces is not a shortage of revenue, but an excess of idiocy. Facing a budget deficit that has passed the $1 billion mark, House Democrats Thursday offered a spending plan that would buy a MP3 player or iPod for every school child in Michigan.

The $38 million dollar proposal to outfit "all Michigan students" with iPods or other similar MP3 players is absurd. We are currently facing a $600 million budget deficit this year and a $2.1 Billion deficit next year.

Here is what Michigan Democrats want to do:

• Increase our taxes
• Cut business taxes
• Release 2,400 inmates from our prison system
• Tax businesses that do business in Michigan but do not have a location in Michigan
• Spend $100 million to improve downtowns
• Spend $38 million so kids can have iPods

Now I don't know about all of the school systems in Michigan, but a couple of the local ones here have leaky roofs, 30+ year old heating systems, 20 year old textbooks, and have overcrowded classrooms.

Do you think those kids would rather have textbooks that are current and decent classroom space that you don't freeze or get soaked in or snazzy iPods that can be used for "educational" purposes. Sure some of the kids will choose the iPod, but you would have a hard time convincing me that it would be filled with "educational" items.

I am tired of hearing about how our state government has to raise taxes to balance the budget because they have cut everything they can only to see that they want to do the same old "tax and spend" garbage as always. If Michigan is ever going to make it out of this recession we need to let our legislature know what we do or don't want and have them listen to us or elect representatives who have a better handle on how to fix our broke state.

We are selling the t-shirts below for $16 with 50% of the profits being donated to the Food Bank Council of Michigan. Make a statement and raise some funds so that the hungry in Michigan can be fed even if they don't have an iPod.

To buy a shirt just click the t-shirt image to arrive at our Goodstorm store.

UPDATE:

My jaw still smarts from when it hit my desk the other day after reading the article mentioned above. Then, I was browsing over at the Detroit Free Press and I see that Apple, maker of the iPod, paid for at least part of a trip for the two Michigan lawmakers sponsoring the bill to come visit Apple in northern California.

The lawmakers visited other sites and hit other topics such as the wine industry. It just seems interesting that they made this trip and visited with Apple earlier this year and now they are sponsoring a bill to put $36 million in Apple's bank account so kids in Michigan can use iPods to help their learning experience.

Sharing the love Detroit Tigers style

Well, the 2007 season is only 2 games old for the Detroit Tigers. Due to the crummy winter weather we have, yesterday's game against the Blue Jays was postponed. In celebration of a new season and the hopes of warmer weather to come I invite you to check out these Squidoo lenses I created.

History of Tiger Stadium - includes pictures, facts, and more from the first ballpark at "The Corner" - Bennett Park to Tiger Stadium

Detroit Tigers Baseball - a celebration of the rich history and great players of the Detroit Tigers franchise

Ernie Harwell - longtime Detroit Tigers baseball broadcaster and broadcasting legend

For all of you Tiger Fans be sure to follow the season at The Detroit Tigers Weblog. I believe it is THE best Detroit Tigers blog. Blog creator and super Tiger fan, Bill Ferris, does a great job of game posts, general Tigers news, tons of stats and analysis, and even reports on the minor league system and players.

Have a Great Weekend & think warm thoughts!

Use these books to plan and take care of your garden this year

Even though winter has returned for a few days and you can't work in your garden due to the snow and the cold you can still research and plan your 2007 garden. I've come across some great gardening books and all of these are meant just for gardening in Michigan. Consider adding these gardening books to your library:

Perennials for Michigan Gardening Month by Month in Michigan Michigan Gardener's Guide Annuals for Michigan Best Garden Plants for Michigan Landscaping With Native Plants in Michigan Tree and Shrub Gardening for Michigan

It won't be long and the cold will all be behind us and the warm sunny days of spring will be back. Meanwhile, there is a lot of garden work to do with seeds to start, perennials to thin, shrubs to prune, and much more.

Footage of April 3, 1956 tornado destruction in Hudsonville, Michigan

April 3, 1956 tornadoes swept through west Michigan taking 17 lives and injuring 340. The 400 yard wide and 48 mile long path of destruction tore through west Michigan from Vriesland to Trufant. The National Weather Service rated the tornado an F5 - the highest rating for tornadoes. F5 Definition: Via National Weather Service Winds of 261-318 miles per hour. Incredible damage. Strong frame houses leveled off foundations and swept away; automobile-sized missiles fly through the air in excess of 100 meters (109 yds); trees debarked; incredible phenomena will occur.

Other tornadoes swept through west Michigan that early April day. Towns like Saugatuck, Holland, Bangor, and Alto were also struck by various tornadoes in the late afternoon and evening hours.

If the above player does not appear you can watch the video here.

Also, there is 8mm footage of the tornado as it ripped through Grand Rapids. You can view the footage here.

Detroit Tigers Opening Day is a Michigan Holiday in my book

Bad news is breathing down our necks here in Michigan on a daily basis. Company's are leaving or laying off. A huge state budget crisis has severe cuts or a tax increase looming. But today, April 2, 2007, is a holiday of sorts. At least for fans of the Detroit Tigers. The 2006 Tigers gave us quite a ride last year and were a bright spot in a state showing its rust.

So here is to a fun Summer of 2007 with the Detroit Tigers. Sure they have already lost Kenny Rogers until the second half of the season. Yeah, the only team in the last three decades to get back to the World Series and win the year after they lost a World Series was the 1989 Oakland A's (the 1988 A's were beat by the L.A. Dodgers - remember former Tiger Kirk Gibson's walk-off home run to take the first game?).

First pitch is at 1:05 p.m. against the Toronto Blue Jays.

For a special treat, take a listen to Hall of Fame broadcaster (and at least a Tigers legend) Ernie Harwell in this excellent montage video. You'll hear his famous speach, "Baseball Is", The Voice of the Turtle, and some of his signature calls (Looonngg Gone!).

If the player does not work you can view the video here.

Each spring Ernie Harwell would recite Song of Solomon 2:11-12 to welcome the new season. Here is "The Voice of the Turtle."

For, lo, the winter is past, The rain is over and gone; The flowers appear on the earth; The time of the singing of birds is come, And the voice of the turtle is heard in our land.

Let's Go Tigers!!!