First District Now Has it's Own Blog!

If you recall, a while back I said there was a group project in the works. Well it is official, Michigan First District GOP now has a blog. Here is the email announcement from Joel Westrom.

February 29, 2008 Baraga- On our way home from State Convention a couple weeks ago it was discussed by several people about putting a First District blog site together. Several people submitted ideas on how to do that. Keith Almli (Baraga County, left) and Kathy Wells (Mackinac County, right) worked together to bring this discussion to a reality. On behalf of the First District, I’m pleased to announce www.firstgopblogs.com as a new blog site for the District. Keith has spent several days working on this and we are very proud of him. We encourage you all to sign up and submit your thoughts. The site is set up for each County (31 in the First) to submit your information. Keep the District informed on you latest events or fundraisers or take a moment to tell us how you felt about a State or National issue. 1st District- I’m working with the officers to schedule our next First District meeting. We are planning to have it centrally located in the District within the next 5-6 weeks. We’ll keep you posted and encourage you all to attend. Our last meeting in Gladwin was a huge success co-hosted by Hubert Fisk and Darlene Conner. Over 80 people in attendance. Meetings have been doubling in size since we started. Thank you all for those who have made them a success.

www.FirstGOP.com

Yeah, that is me in the right side. I know, that is a crappy picture. Why he used that pic is beyond me. I have a long skinny nose. I have heard that is a typical Czech feature. So that makes me feel a little better. If you want to say something about my forehead, just remember "Big foreheads are sexy...in Eastern Europe."
If you are from the First District (Upper Peninsula and Northern Michigan), join in on the fun. If you are not, read it and see how us First District Republicans are newsworthy and politically minded. I will be blogging on the Mackinac County Page.

Posted also on Michigan Redneck II.

Saint Ignace Shelter

For one night last night Saint Ignace, Michigan had an overnight shelter set up at the Little Bear Arena. All over the state the weather was crappy and dangerously vicious. The Mackinac Bridge was closed due to hazardous driving conditions. Thus anyone who was in Saint Ignace over the weekend or those who had been in other towns ending up in Saint Ignace to get across the bridge to leave for downstate could not get to the Lower Peninsula. Nor could people drive on US-2 towards Marquette. Traffic in Saint Ignace had a bottleneck effect. There were people stuck in town late at night needing places to stay. Hotels in town had to turn away potential guests, due to the fact that each hotel was full. The city had to set up a shelter for people who could not get a room.
To read more about yesterday's Michigan weather check out some of this article in the FREEP.

• STATEWIDE: 1 fatality, Mackinac Bridge closed due to wind

• February 10, 2008
• ASSOCIATED PRESS
• Bitter cold weather moving across Michigan was accompanied by high winds and snow, creating hazardous driving conditions Sunday and forcing road closures, and was blamed in at least one death.
• The weather also led to the cancellation of church services and outdoor events. And Michigan State Police said the Mackinac Bridge, a five-mile span that links Michigan’s two peninsulas, was closed due to high winds and white-out conditions.

• In Leland, about 20 miles northwest of Traverse City, the body of a missing 87-year-old man with Alzheimer’s disease was found Sunday morning about five blocks from his home. The man, whose name wasn’t immediately released, died of exposure to the cold, the Leelanau County sheriff’s department said.

This part is just sad. My heart and prayers go out to the family.

• In the Upper Peninsula near St. Ignace, state police said part of U.S. 2 was closed because of snow drifts along Lake Michigan. Along Lake Superior, state Route 28 was closed between Marquette and Munising because of white-out conditions. And I-75 between the International Bridge in Sault Ste. Marie and state Route 28 was closed.

• The forecast was so cold that Sunday’s Lansing Polar Plunge charity benefit, where people were to jump into the cold waters at Hawk Island County Park, was postponed. The event was reset for Feb. 24, the Lansing State Journal reported. [more here]
  

I have never understood why people would do this in the first place.

Casperson: Still room for reform in Michigan

• ESCANABA — State Rep. Tom Casperson, R-Escanaba, said government spending and programs need to be looked at closely.
• Casperson issued a statement after Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s 2008 State of the State address Tuesday night.
• “There’s been a lot of talk about reform in government and we’ve only been able to scratch the surface. I think we really need to take a serious look at that in the coming months on the regulatory side of it and on the tax side of it.
• “Something I’ve learned in being around Lansing for five years is that doing the same thing over and over again is not working, especially in Michigan with our economy.”
• Casperson said government agencies need to be looked at again.
• “My hope is that this year we can look for meaningful changes that can be made in what the government is doing. Everything involved with spending and programs needs to be looked at so the government can step up and lead by example. That might mean revisiting every state government agency and eliminating those that are outdated and cutting bloated, expensive hierarchies.” [more here]
  

Mike Huckabee is the only Presidential Candidate to be Named Top Hunter

'Tis hunting season and I thought I would dedicate this article to Yoopers. The Upper Peninsula is said to have the best hunting in Michigan, possibly the nation. No, I myself do not hunt. I tried to beg an ex-boyfriend to teach me. He said I would get too cold and I don't like cold. He also said I like critters too much and I would get sappy if I or him shot a deer. I think I would probably agree with him on the cold, but not the sappy part.
If ya haven't gotten bored by ramblin and are still reading here is an article I want to share. It is an article from the Swamp (Tribune's Washington bureau) about Outdoor Life naming Mike Huckabee "Hunting and fishing's 25 Most Influential People." Here is some snippets from the article.

• Huckabee: One of 25 most influential hunter-fishers

• by Mark Silva
• Maybe it's Mike Huckabee's repeated warning to people that one should never aim one's weapon at a dead carcass.
• Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas and now a Republican candidate for a president, has become one of "Hunting and Fishing's 25 Most Influential People.'' He and Ted Nugent, the gun-toting rock star.
• So says Outdoor Life, the magazine that claims 5.5 million readers, with news breaking in the December/January issue on newstands tomorrow. Huckabee is the only one of the presidential candidates to make the list, and one of only two politicians -- the other is Sen. Kent Conrad, a North Dakota Democrat. The list is officially known as the Outdoor Life 25.

I wonder what the Michigan Sportsmen, who endorsed Romney think of that?

• But apparently the magazine has some other criteria: "The magazine lauded Huckabee’s conservation work on behalf of sportsmen during his Arkansas governorship. Huckabee, an avid angler and hunter, helped pass Amendment 75, “The Conservation Amendment,” months into office. Approved in 199 6, the amendment pumps approximately $26 million into the coffers of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. Outdoor Life also sited Huckabee’s work to improve public access for hunters and anglers and his kids’ fishing initiatives as additional reasons he was named to the Outdoor Life 25.''
• “We started the Outdoor Life 25 because we wanted to recognize high-profile and grassroots individuals who have had the most positive impact on hunting and fishing,” Todd Smith, editor-in-chief of Outdoor Life, said in a release. “Mike Huckabee is a perfect example of someone making a difference. He put his shoulder behind a special conservation amendment that now pumps millions into the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission annually. Those dollars are directly helping to make hunting and fishing opportunities in his state even better.”

Read the rest here.

God Bless from the Upper Peninsula in Michigan! And don't get too drunk at hunting camp ;).

Introducing Yoopers for Mike Huckabee '08

I have started a meetup group for Mike Huckabee supporters in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Click on the link to the top right icon for details. Membership dues would be optional, if everyone could help offset costs, that would be great.

St. Ignace, Michigan Meet Mike Huckabee, Mike Huckabee Meet St. Ignace, Michigan

Hey, I just finished participating in "Fall for Huckabee." I handed out 75 push cards in less than 1 hour! I should have copied out more. Actually, they didn't look like push cards. I was unable to use the thick paper, so they were more like small handouts. Nonetheless, they had Mike's message on them.

I stopped people on the street and went into the businesses to talk to employees, but I did not bother shoppers, until they were outside. I met people from many different states. Some people had not heard about Mike Huckabee, some people heard his name but did not know anything about him, others knew mostly what he was about. The point is they all wanted to "Fall for Mike Huckabee." Of course I would be lying if I said everyone I talked to took the handouts. There was a small, minute, few people who said, "I am a Democrat, I don't vote and/or I don't follow politics." There was quite a few people who said, "Is he a Republican?", "Yes", "I haven't heard of him, but if he's a Republican I will take one." I asked some people if they were from Michigan. The majority said they were. I asked if they heard about the October 9 Debate. Some had, some had not. I gave them details about the debate, and reminded them of Michigan pride that we should be proud of the fact that there will be a debate in Michigan.

I met a woman from Arkansas who said that she just loved having him as governor. And she liked that he was a moral man. She said what we need is someone with morals. Speaking of Arkansas, one gentleman and his wife that I stopped said, "Oh, he's from Arkansas", "But he is different he's not like that other guy, he's a Republican", "Oh, Okay", "Do you still want a handout", "No thanks." Well at least I tried.

Anyone who wants to participate in your own local "Fall for Huckabee", a few tips. If you give handouts to families, focus on the family aspect of Mike. If you handout to businesses, focus on the business and Fair Tax aspect. One woman who was in her shop had her yellow lab in the store with her. I didn't know if she or her husband hunted, but I took a chance and let her know that he is pro-second amendment and that he hunts with his black lab. If you handout to men that look like they hunt, which is a big activity in the Upper Peninsula, let them know that he is pro-second amendment and pro-hunting. If you handout to young adults, focus on the arts and music education. You would not be lying or changing his message, it would merely be focusing on what these people would be most interested in about Mike Huckabee.

Hey Northern Michiganders and Yoopers

On http://www.mikehuckabee.com/ there is a Demand Map for Mike Huckabee in Michigan. Please go over there and demand Mike Huckabee come to the northern area and/or Upper Peninsula.