In Michigan we have Randy Thelen and a potential scandal with the MEDC, we have Chuck Thelen and numerous controversies with Gotion and the CCP. We have a CCP factory flying the Chinese flag higher than the American flag.
Money, mystery – always with the MEDC. Are Chuck and Randy brothers, buddies or just have the same scandalous last names?
Currently On Cultural Courage ...
Will The Green Police Come and Enforce Cutting Down 209000 Acres of Forest and Destroy Farmland?
All the Initiatives for Solar Panel Wastelands, Cutting Down Trees And CCP Have One Single Driving Force
Hiding in Plain Sight
In our version of the coming EV revolution we have appointed the MEDC to attract jobs and industry to Michigan. The politicians are too busy hiding from us in order to do what they promised so they went the “third way” route ala Bill Clinton with a public / private partnership. A 4 year contract has been awarded to a company of 360 people to do what Michigan had done on its own 100 years ago without government. Build industry. The CEO of this public / private entity one of the best.
That’s a relief. We must have a detailed plan from them on how our tax dollars will be spent.
Note that pay scales and details have not been released. What do the 360 people do? They are economic developers. Never heard of it? Neither have I. It sounds like they talk to businesses and try to get them to relocate to Michigan.
It Ain’t No Mystery What’s Going On With The CCP In Michigan
While to many who don’t understand the law, nor have a concept for how US sovereignty should protect us and want to silence our voices with cries of Zelophobia and racism, IT DOES MATTER THE CCP THAT THEY SYMBOLICALLY HAVE A FLAG THAT ESTABLISHES PRIMACY.
Corporate filings with the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs lists the president of J-Star Motion as Xiaoxiang Zhang, with an address in Garden Grove, Calif. Bearnard Zahm is listed as the treasurer and secretary, with the company’s address on Woodlawn Hills Drive in Cedar Springs.
No other flag or pennant should be placed above or, if on the same level, to the right of the flag of the United States of America, except during church services conducted by naval chaplains at sea, when the church pennant may be flown above the flag during church services for the personnel of the Navy. No person shall display the flag of the United Nations or any other national or international flag equal, above, or in a position of superior prominence or honor to, or in place of, the flag of the United States at any place within the United States or any Territory or possession thereof,” the law reads.
Mecosta County Taking The Lead Exposing The CCP Deals
Within minutes of taking office last week, the new board voted 5-2 to rescind Resolution 2023-04, which stated the prior commission’s support for Gotion, citing “new information and developments … concerning the project and its ownership structure with direct ties to the Chinese Communist Party CCP and broader issues of foreign investment.”
“When 92% of the Mecosta County residents opposed the Chinese battery plant in our community, the board of commissioners should have listened,” newly elected board Chairman Chris Zimmerman said. “When our congressman says there are security concerns with China in our community, the board of commissioners should have reversed their approval of the project.”
Chuck Thelen And Gotion
Show Notes: Revenge of The Gotion
Green Charter Township is Sued in Federal Court by CCP / Gotion
https://www.bigrapidsnews.com/news/article/gotion-sues-green-charter-township-breach-19208059.php
Citing the agreements made by the previous city commission and town supervisors, Gotion intends to proceed with their project. The newly elected town government is resisting. Gotion, a CCP owned company, has filed a federal lawsuit in
“It’s unfortunate that Gotion has had to resort to litigation to get the township to comply with their obligations under the agreement,” Gotion Inc. North American Manufacturing Vice President Chuck Thelen said in a statement. “We’re unable to comment further since this is now an ongoing legal matter.”
The lawsuit filing states that the breach of contract arose from unlawful actions of the new members of the township board, who were elected in a recall election in November, which constitute a breach of the development agreement.
Gotion has been operating without a permit and cutting down trees.
Additionally, the Economic Development Responsibility Alliance watchdog group alleged in a letter sent in late January to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that CCP Gotion hasn’t filed any environmental paperwork with the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy.
Green Charter Sues IT Firm For Security Breach
“After they (the new board) got in there, the equipment was not working properly. It slowed down and would not let them do some things. Steve (Wright) went and looked at it and he discovered that someone had gone in and put a program on our server that allowed for remote access to get into the computer system from off-site,” Beilfuss said. “Our security caught it and that is why the system slowed down. Someone tried to hack the system over and over again. They tried to crack the password so many times, they broke the links in the programs, and we had to go in a fix all of that.”
This is a huge win for Michigan businesses of all sizes, and I’m so proud that Republicans and Democrats worked together to get it done. pic.twitter.com/8dGApeuYDa
— Governor Gretchen Whitmer (@GovWhitmer) January 13, 2025
It’s All About International Experts Bringing In Their Factories To Extract Our Resources And Wealth
Forget EVs and Solar- they are the pathway to losing your sovereignty. Dems will sell us out, Republican will sell us out.
Show Notes: Morning Mission – Mother WEFers
So We All Get EVs? No – We Get 75% Reduction In All Vehicles
https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_The_Urban_Mobility_Scorecard_Tool_2023.pdf
Space allocation (e.g., space for cycling and micro-mobility, walkability, public and shared transport)
The roundtables facilitated public-private collaboration in support of local approaches to advancing different issues within sustainable mobility. Discussions centred on issues such as advancing shared mobility as a means to tackle car dependency (e.g., shared vehicles, public transport); improving connections between active mobility and public transport (e.g., footpaths and cycle lanes that connect to buses, metros, etc.); and accelerating the electrification of urban transport and charging infrastructure
The Fourth Industrial Revolution Features Michigan
Through the creation of a new Advanced Manufacturing Platform (AMP), hosted by Automation Alley – Michigan’s Industry 4.0 knowledge centre – and connected globally through the World Economic Forum, Michigan has the opportunity to position itself as the global leader for advanced manufacturing and ensure the state is prepared for the rapid innovations transforming its industries.
While numerous manufacturers in Michigan are already taking steps to adapt to the Fourth Industrial Revolution’s Innovations
Manufacturers need to evaluate their legacy systems and assess what needs to be done to integrate these systems and transition to the factories of the future. Only then can data analytics transform their production floors into smart factories. Deploying IIoT infrastructure can help modernize and connect legacy equipment
Another bait and switch, there are less jobs dues to super new robots. Somehow these must be different than what industry uses today.
Cobots can offload the “dull, dirty, dangerous” tasks, improving productivity on the factory floor and attracting a younger generation to the manufacturing industry
MEDC Has Another Thelen Bro: Randy Thelen Embroiled in MEDC Scandal
A 41-page complaint was filed with Michigan’s Board of Ethics (BOE) by Tedda Hughes, alleging ethical violations and conflicts of interest involving high-ranking executives and union officials connected to the MEDC.
- Conflicts of Interest: Appointees allegedly used their positions as grantors and grantees to direct millions of dollars to their organizations
- Misuse of Funds: Taxpayer-funded grants were allegedly awarded to entities with overlapping leadership and interests
- Prohibited Conduct: Randy Thelen and Tom Lutz are accused of violating the Ethics Act, including not recusing themselves from certain votes when they had conflicts of interest.Specifically, Thelen is alleged to have voted to extend taxpayer funding to Gentex despite Gentex having been fined for falsifying records, and without disclosing his conflict of interest [Financial Impropriety: The complaint suggests that some officials are evading taxes.
- Lack of Transparency: The article alleges that the nonprofit Two Peninsulas Research Group lacks IRS filings and even a website, while receiving millions in funds from union and nonprofit organizations.
Groups Involved
- Two Peninsulas Research Group: A nonprofit that lacks IRS filings and a website, allegedly used by union and nonprofit leaders to receive millions in funds while they also hold government appointments
- The Right Place Inc.: A nonprofit economic development corporation where Randy Thelen is CEO, which secured significant funding from the MEDC for the Gotion project [8].
- Gentex: A company specializing in advanced technologies that received funding from the MSF; the Gentex CEO is also the president of The Right Place Inc. board [9].
- Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters and Millwrights (MRCC): Tom Lutz’s employer, which allegedly received $10 million in grant funding from the MEDC, and has made contributions to “Whitmer for Governor” and the nonprofit “Two Peninsulas Research Group”
Detailed Allegations
- Tom Lutz: As a member of the MEDC Executive Committee, Lutz is accused of securing millions in MEDC funding for his organization, MRCC, including a $5 million SSBCI award and a $5 million grant, while also seeing his salary increase. The complaint alleges Lutz did not properly recuse himself from discussions about SSBCI funding processes.
- Randy Thelen: As a member of the MSF board and CEO of The Right Place, Inc., Thelen is accused of approving grants for his organization, and for Gentex, whose CEO determines Thelen’s salary and performance bonuses. Thelen’s organization received millions in funding from MSF. The complaint notes that he had to recuse himself from a high number of MSF votes due to conflicts of interest.
- Jennifer Root: The complaint alleges that Root, an active lobbyist and appointee, is part of a network of organizations that contribute to and benefit from TPRG, and who also made contributions to Whitmer.
- Stephen Pontoni: Pontoni, a lobbyist and appointee, is accused of being involved in the same network as Root and Lutz, through his position at MAJ and as President of TPRG. The complaint points out that he, like Root and Lutz, has also benefited from this network.
So Are We Fixing FOIAs – Nope
House Speaker Matt Hall, R-Richland Township, told reporters during a Thursday roundtable that expanding the state’s Freedom of Information Act is not a top priority for him as he begins the new two-year session.
“You’re not going to see fast action on the FOIA stuff from me in the House,” he said. “You’re just not.”
Hall said he is focused on other transparency and good-government measures, including:
- Earmark reform: New House rules adopted under Hall will require lawmakers to disclose any earmarks they sponsor before votes on budget bills. Michigan lawmakers have loaded recent state budgets with billions of dollars in “enhancement grants” to support pet projects in their districts, including some controversial measures that have prompted criminal investigations.
- Cooling off: Hall said he believes in “ending this revolving door” of lawmakers who leave office and immediately become lobbyists. He noted a previous proposal for a two-year “cooling off” period.
- Lame-duck guardrails: Hall said he wants to make it harder to “just ram through unpopular votes without committee hearings in the middle of the night after an election.” He cited a previous proposal to require two-third majority support to pass bills in a lame-duck session.
“I think those are bigger issues than FOIA, because those are issues about billions of dollars of your tax dollars — the public,” Hall said, later adding: “I’m actually going to do these things.”
MEDC Refuses To Fulfill FOIA Requests
A Michigan agency that distributes millions of dollars in subsidies is stonewalling a group seeking public records, according to a new lawsuit.
The Mackinac Center for Public Policy and Michigan Rising Action sued the Michigan Economic Development Corporation Sept. 12, alleging a violation of the Freedom of Information Act.
Michigan Rising filed a records request in late May, asking for the economic development corporation’s communications with American Lidar Inc., a Michigan company linked to the Chinese Hesai Group. The state agency distributes taxpayer-funded subsidies.
The MEDC responded on June 20, with a fee estimate of $593.48 and an estimated processing time of 16 hours to produce around 1,200 records.
Whitmer Has An NDA With MEDC
https://www.michigancapitolconfidential.com/news/medc-asks-5700-for-nondisclosure-agreements
The Mackinac Center earlier this month filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, asking for any nondisclosure agreements on file since Jan. 1, 2018. What came back was a bill for nearly $5,700.
Government by secrecy, confidentiality and nondisclosure has become a trend in Michigan in recent years.
When taxpayer dollars are spent granting corporate welfare, state officials — including the very lawmakers who allegedly sign off on the deals — are made to sign nondisclosure agreements.
How many nondisclosure agreements exist on corporate welfare deals? The MEDC’s preliminary response to the FOIA request offers a window, but it leaves many questions unanswered.
The MEDC refers to 5,572 “sides” of paper that need to be copied. There could be as many as 5,572 single pages, or as few as 2,786 double-sided pages. How many agreements does that account for? We don’t know.
Mallory McMurrow, Maven of Innovation
How Michigan is trying to recapture its innovation mojo
The University of Michigan is building a $250 million innovation center in downtown Detroit to prepare workers for new knowledge jobs. Michigan State University is planning to build a $340 million Engineering and Digital Innovation Center in East Lansing.
Along with opportunity govt has to create housing
A group of Democratic lawmakers, led by state Sen. Mallory McMorrow (D-Royal Oak), tried to change that tradition by proposing to shift hundreds of millions of dollars from the state’s main business attraction fund to investments in public transit, childcare and community development.
The proposed legislation failed to pass before the end of last year’s lame duck session. It represents a missed opportunity to make Michigan a more attractive place for talent and entrepreneurs, said Ned Staebler, CEO of TechTown, a business startup development organization in Detroit.
“We need to create places where workers and companies want to be,” Staebler told me. “We need transit, housing and neighborhood amenities. It’s abundantly clear that places that have those things are growing.”
AI: Making Us Meeker
Why does AI make us worse at being musicians, how does that make sense? Oh, because life if too hard and we want to give up.
It makes me feel insane that the idea underpinning every pitch for AI is that we all hate everything we do. We don’t just hate our jobs, but we hate our hobbies, we hate talking to other people, we hate expending any kind of effort. It’s so nasty https://t.co/ZWRv09Fjo6
— 🟡 The tumboy 🟡 (@TheTumboy) January 13, 2025