Shiawassee [2] Weekly - August 20, 2006
August 20th, 2006 | by christine |Walden Wins Primary
| Congratulations to Commissioner Jerry Walden, who won his primary race against challenger Shannon Steffes by approximately 160 votes. My only question: Why are the Walden signs still up on Geeck & Juddville Roads? Isn’t there a rule against that? (It’s not snark, I’m asking) Because if we don’t have any ordinances banning that, I’ll be putting signs up for Jack Johnson this week. |  |
Caledonia Democracy Inaction
Republican Marcy Brady won a spot on the ballot for Caledonia Twp Clerk after receiving 60 votes in the primary. Rick Holzheuer will be the Republican candidate for Caledonia Township Trustee, having secured 15 votes. To my knowledge, Brady and Holzheuer face no Democratic opposition for their positions. John Orin (Republican) is the incumbent Caledonia Supervisor. He was elected Supervisor earlier this year, by securing 4 votes. He is challenged by Caledonia Trustee Joe DeCaire, who was elected to the Caledonia Board last year with a total of 4 votes.
Makes you proud, doesn’t it?
If I name my house ‘Disneyland’ will that make it a magical kingdom?
Once again, Michigan voters are being asked to support a proposal that is deceitful in nature. They are being asked to vote support equal rights by voting against equal rights.
In a letter to the editor of the Argus Press today, Diane Carey speaks in favor of Proposal 2. I have always appreciated Diane’s respect for hard work. I think she has a genuine belief that if we all work really hard, we can all be as wealthy as DeVos, and I agree with her that there is a lot of value in working hard. However, her letter today just reaffirms my belief that, like all good intentioned supporters of prop 2, she is not aware of the realities of the world. For example, she states:
‘Women who don’t interrupt their careers to have children make exactly the same money as men in the same jobs’
That is simply not true. I have never interrupted my career to have children, and yet in two different jobs I started out making less than a male counterpart. One job was while I was in college; I worked full time and had relevant experience and college credits, and still made about $3,000/yr less than male college students who started after I did. Another job was after I graduated; I had business experience and a college degree, and still made less than my male co-workers. One of my childless friends works for a company that has an informal policy of paying women less.
It’s not a matter of one person being at a disadvantage to co-workers, it is a matter of all women being paid less on average. If you survey the women who work for these companies, they consistently make less than the men. Perhaps it is because these companies think that women will eventually leave to have children. Carey offers some of her own speculation that lower income for women has to do with chosen occupation:
‘Millions of women want the flexibility of jobs like teaching, office services or cosmetics. Those jobs don’t pay as much as computer programming, construction or engineering.
And yet the three jobs I’m talking about are in computer programming, engineering, and industrial services. That’s just work for men-folk, I guess.
Protect civil rights in Michigan by defeating the Michigan ‘Civil Rights’ Initiative. Vote No on prop 2.
(by the way, can these people tell the truth about anything?)
Let them eat cake (and by cake, we mean trash)
Byron Area Ambulance Service has gone out of service, resulting in 19 employees being laid off. When employees tried to claim unemployment benefits, however, they found out that BAAS hadn’t properly submitted the required paperwork or payments to cover their employees. BAAS employees do have another option though … they can take the advice of the fine folks at Northwest Airlines.
Northwest Airlines recently announced cutbacks resulting in over 1,000 lay-offs. To their employees, they offer this handy-dandy booklet: 101 Ways To Save Money. Some of the nicer tips include ‘meet friends for coffee instead of dinner’, ‘do your own nails’, and ‘hang clothes out to dry’. Some of the not-so-nice … ‘volunteer two hours a month for reduced cost food through the Share Program’, ‘trade your car down’, and ‘move to a less expensive place to live’. And the economy thanks you, Northwest Airlines, for your kinder, gentler approach to business.
(thanks to Kathy at Stone Soup Musings for the pdf)
That’s it for this week. I’ll leave you with this un-credited, non-denominational thought …
“O Source of Mercy, give us the grace to show forbearance to those who offend against us. When the wrongs and injustices of others wound us, may our hearts not despair of human good. May no trial, however severe, embitter our souls and destroy our trust. When beset by trouble and sorrow, our mothers and fathers put on the armour of faith and fortitude. May we too find strength to meet adversity with quiet courage and unshaken will.”
