Potpurri

It has been a while since I have posted on this site, so let me take this moment to share some of my thoughts with you.

I will begin by saying that the incident of a week or so ago in Colorado is an example of how people are responsible for the decisions that are made when guns are used to kill others. It is not the gun manufacturers that cause guns to shoot, but the people who recklessly use the guns that do the shooting. The call for stricter gun control is a waste of time. At best, maybe there needs to be some sort of standard set on the purchase of semi to automatic gun purchases. All these isolated cases of people who have purchased guns illegally are not enough in my opinion to impugn upon one’s right to bear arms.

The City of Detroit; wow, what more can be said about a place where selfishness by those elected to lead is an example of failed leadership at work. The best that the residents can hope for is that in 2013; that they do a complete sweeping out of office any and all that have hampered the need to move the city forward. The eradication of those that have stymied the efforts of Governor Snyder and the electorate that fail to understand what is going on is in their best interests need to come to grips with the Consent Agreement. Otherwise, the alternative; which may be bankruptcy, would be much worse than what the city has going for itself at present. What the city is facing is a stark reality of sleeping at the wheel for far too long and the unions have got to get on board before it’s too late to even save the city from its own demise.

Once again, it appears that a cover-up is at play. The situation at Eastern Michigan University involving its president proves once again how those in power think that everyone else is stupid. The release of some self-serving letter on July 10, 2012, to the EMU community was only a pre-emptive strike to try to stave off what bad news that came out later in the day. A declaration about being transparent and that full disclosure were the foundations for the president being hired appears to have been a complete and utter lie. As a member of the search committee that was reviewing and interviewing candidates for the job in the wake of the death on campus in 2007, it was not reviewed to us that there was an arrest for ‘Driving While Impaired’ in 2005. Most likely, those in power at the time; i.e., the Board of Regents, were aware of this issue and failed to disclose it to the search committee as a whole.

However, if the current president want to now say that she is all about transparency and full disclosure, why was she not about that then? Only as a result of an incident in April of this year where she is accused of being drunk did she find it necessary to reveal the 2005 incident to the EMU community. An incident that I am willing to bet was not her first time driving after drinking, but certainly the first time that she happened to be caught doing so. She has failed in her attempt at practicing transparency and the Board of Regents has definitely failed the EMU community. It is high time that all university boards at our public institutions of higher learning be elected by the people if accountability matters.

Mr. Romney, please try thinking before you speak, if at all possible. The comments about a country’s preparedness for the Olympics could have been saved in your thought process. When making unwarranted comments and/or saying stupid things, it does not help your cause. As a supporter of the presidential candidate, I can only cringe when I learn about the lack of thoughtfulness that he exhibits at times. Election Day 2012 will be very interesting at best, but there is no need to self-implode when it is not necessary to do so. The guy needs to steer clear of getting the old dreaded foot-in-mouth disease.

Back to Detroit for a moment to speak on a major problem that is plaguing the city. Please folks, you have got to get a handle on your crime problems. It is often said that it is a matter of the culture dictating the actions of the residents. We all know that every resident of Detroit is not the epitome of the actions of a few, but the minority that continue to carry out these acts of urban terrorism do nothing more than hamper whatever efforts the city has at changing it image. The mayhem has got to stop sooner rather than later. It is sad that the culture has been this way for so long and to have had more deaths due to murder than the amount of troops killed abroad trying to defend this country is truly appalling.

The two John’s (Conyers and Dingell); please folks, let them find a place to be other than representing you in Congress. They both need to be retired and it is up to you to finally realize that. The Founding Fathers never intended for service in the U.S. Congress to be a lifetime appointment by the electorate and at eighty plus years, their collective effectiveness is about the same as putting a band-aid on a ten inch flesh would of the skin.

There was a recent ad produced by that loud mouthed attorney in Southfield touting the disrespect and racism shown toward the current president. Interestingly enough, the ad failed to speak about the racism from blacks shown toward the immediate past president of this country and the disrespect he was shown. Though far from a fan of President George W. Bush, I just hate it when someone only paints half a picture and present their side as factual. Besides that, as a person of color, I find it offensive that a white man is pontificating on about how racist other white men are. At the very least, his assessment is oh so disingenuous at best.

The recent outcry of the Michigan Democratic Party and its pathetic leader, Mark Brewer is laughable. For them to try and discredit U.S. Senate candidate, Clark Durant, for this so-called scheme orchestrated by the candidate and his daughter is ridiculous. Mr. Durant has done far more to educate kids in Detroit than the Democratic Party can ever lay claim to. Furthermore, this is the same leader of the dumbmocrats that in 2006 stood alongside the UAW and then mayor Kwame Kilpatrick to hijack the Attorney General nomination of M. Scott Bowen, while nuetering the agenda of Governor Granholm. Give it a rest Brewer; you have been a major disappointment as your party’s leader and the best you can do is try to stymie to candidancy of Mr. Durant. You are someone else that needs to ride off into the sunset with the two John’s.

In closing, let me stand and offer a round of applause to Dan Gilbert. What this man has done to almost single handedly revive downtown Detroit is admirable. He has walked it like he talked it and the residents of Detroit owe him a great deal of gratitude for the efforts that he is making in trying to make Detroit a destination; not just for business, but for potential residents as well. Hats off to you Mr. Gilbert for a job well done.