The World Economic Forum is calling for more direct action to end the pending food crisis. Amazing how that is timed with Oregon and Idaho water restrictions and Michigan Avian Flu crisis. Want fries with the grasshopper burger?
SNR Study Guide: Age of AI, Madison & Kissinger
Election Fraud: Where Is Barbie Blunder Benson?
- Charges that Jocelyn Benson’s Board of Elections (BOE) has unlawfully manipulated Michigan’s voter rolls by failing to report over 35,002 voter history records from two 2024 special elections
- Tim Vetter, a data analyst expert from DEEP (Data Evaluation of Election Processes), who has been examining Michigan’s voter rolls since the 2020 election
- The two special elections in question were held on January 30, 2024 (primary in the 13th District) and April 16, 2024 (to replace representatives in the 13th and 25th Districts) after two Democrat representatives resigned
- Vetter reportedly compared the “Source QVF” (Qualified Voter File held by local clerks) with the MI SOS Benson’s BOE’s “Altered QVF” and found that the vote histories for 10 sampled voter IDs were missing from the state’s altered data
- Michigan law MCL168.932(c), which prohibits fraudulent entries, erasures, or alterations of vote history records, and MCL168.509q(1)(f), which requires voters to have a voting history for a 5-year period, as being violated
- According to Vette “the altered voter rolls at the State level are nothing new” and that an accurate list of voters in the vote history data from Jocelyn Benson’s BOE has never been reviewed
This can be easily rectified, this is Database 101, entry maintenance. Each voter has a unique id, an anonymous number that should be used once and only once during an election. Comparison between elections do not require looking at first name, last name, address. If they do, you know that the rules of the system are being violated. Data from month to month should remain unaltered unless there is an audit report that details which voters have been affected and why
Fraud 101
https://culturalcourage.substack.com/p/fraud-101-why-you-cant-determine
The key to a secure election is cleaning the voter registrations. By claiming that there was no election fraud and ignoring the 606,000 voters who are “invalid”, yet remain on the rolls, we are ensuring huge losses. We need to understand how that affects the voting process, and how relying solely on hand counting ballots misses that avenue of fraud. Completely. And no, it doesn’t mean we keep Dominion machines, we have to return to paper ballots and one day of voting and Election Day tabulation of results.
I defy you, by examining a paper ballot, to determine if the ballot was cast by a legally registered voter. What are you counting? You do not have a chain of custody when you are recounting the votes by hand, so how do you know that the last bag of ballots discovered days after the polls closed contains votes from actual voters?
In other words, once the absentee ballot leaves the envelope we lose the chain of custody and can’t distinguish if it’s “fake”. And looking at the ballot itself is useless. And it turns out that we discovered a bunch more ballots for Sara, in fact they were all for Sara but one! Amazing! Each year Sara’s party locates those votes, but we’re sure glad that they all were counted. And recounted. And recounted. Which ones are the Illegally Cast Votes, can you pick them out from the photo below?
FOIA Nonsense
https://www.michigannewssource.com/2025/03/legal-experts-foia-law-in-michigan-needs-fixing/
Rochester Community Schools made national news this year when it told a parent that it would cost $33.1 million for the district to review 21,500 emails that contained some form of the phrase “anti-retaliation.”
The parent placed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the district. However, such claims of multi-million costs to recover information are not unheard of. In 2009, the Michigan State Police said a FOIA the Mackinac Center for Public Policy put in requesting information about Homeland Security spending would cost $6.8 million.
“For years, FOIA has suffered from the same problems,” said Steve Delie, an attorney who deals with FOIAs for the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. “Requests are too expensive, and government regularly takes so long to produce them that they lose most of their value. Even when records are produced, they are often so heavily redacted that they serve no purpose.”
Profiling Darth – Stop The Illegal Shipping of Wine!!
Attorney General Dana Nessel has initiated lawsuits against out-of-state wineries for allegedly violating Michigan law by mailing their products directly to consumers without the required direct shipper license
How Many Illegal Shipments Have Been Destroying the Michigan Economy? Four
Revenge of the Stiffs
- Nessel is allegedly using the powers of her office for political purposes, rather than solely to uphold the law and protect the interests of the state in a nonpartisan manner
- State Rep. Angela Rigas, chair of the House Oversight Subcommittee on Weaponization of State Government, directly stated that Nessel’s attempt to strip her of her cosmetology license for styling hair during COVID-19 lockdowns was a “clear example of weaponization of state government“
- Former AG Mike Cox echoed this concern, stating that using the power of the office to forward a political goal that is not central to Michigan’s governance or the protection of its people constitutes “a misuse of the office“. He emphasized that while an AG can voice opinions on policy debates, using the office’s power to advance those goals inappropriately politicizes the role
Sadly They Have Neglected the Case of Marlena Pavlos-Hackey, the pizzeria owner from Holland Michigan who was jailed after operating her establishment once she heard the MI Supreme Court Declare Goc Whitmer’s lock down orders illegal
Oh The Lies Darth Doth Spins
But in several instances, Nessel has felt compelled to act, most recently joining a lawsuit against the Trump administration’s actions to dramatically downsize the Department of Education (Trump signed an order Thursday to all but eliminate that department).
The state is also leading multistate legal battles challenging billionaire Elon Musk’s actions at the Department of Government Efficiency and proposed reimbursement cuts at the National Institutes of Health that could lead to multimillion-dollar budget hits for Michigan universities.
In some cases, the challenge has resulted in temporary pauses or reversals of Trump policies while the case moves through the courts.
“Had we not brought these actions and had these policies been able to go through as planned by the executive, the damage to Michiganders is just absolutely irreparable and unsustainable,” Nessel said. “I don’t know if the public necessarily knows how much harm would have come to them.”
Outside of the courtroom, Nessel said her office has also had to spend significant time walking state agencies through the potential impacts of Trump’s actions on Michigan, such as executive orders denouncing “radical indoctrination” in schools and possible cuts to grant funding.
Birthright Citizenship
- Nessel and 16 other Democratic attorneys general sued the Trump administration the day after he took office to challenge an executive order aimed at limiting birthright citizenship, This executive order intended to stop recognizing children born in the U.S. to parents living in the country illegally or on a temporary basis as U.S. citizens
- The lawsuit argues that the Trump administration cannot unilaterally change the policy of birthright citizenship, which stems from the 14th Amendment, granting citizenship to anyone born in the United States regardless of their parents’ immigration status.
Funding Freeze
- Michigan, along with 21 other states, filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration. The lawsuit claimed that the proposed freeze would result in “immediate and devastating harm” and would “unlawfully interfere with congressionally approved funds“
- Federal courts blocked the Trump administration from moving forward with the proposed funding freeze. However, Nessel and others accused federal agencies the following month of not immediately complying with the court order
Medical, public health research
Nessel co-led a multistate lawsuit challenging proposed widespread funding cuts to federally funded medical and public health research at universities and major research institutions. The lawsuit argued that changes to a National Institutes of Health policy would disrupt research and cause layoffs. A federal judge temporarily blocked the change
Should Darth Have Sued Obama? Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)
Nessel co-led a 14-state coalition challenging Trump’s delegation of executive power to Elon Musk to run the new DOGE. The lawsuit argued that Trump violated the Constitution by creating a federal department without congressional approval and giving Musk sweeping authority
Federal Firings
Department of Education
762M For Pre-K is Not A Head Start
In the 2026 budget, Whitmer wants $676 million to fund no-fee preschool for four-year-olds and $61 million to continue and expand a pilot program to offer no-fee preschool to eligible three-year-olds.
Early education programs aim to give children an academic head start. But there is little evidence for any long-term benefits from the state’s taxpayer-funded preschool initiatives, according to Corey DeAngelis, visiting fellow at the American Institute for Economic Research.
“We shouldn’t expect tacking on one more year to a broken government school system to fix anything,” DeAngelis wrote in an email to Michigan Capitol Confidential.
Superintendent Took 5 Paid Out Of State Trips This is Why Education Sux
Three months before teachers picketed outside a school board meeting in May 2024, Troy Public Schools Superintendent Richard Machesky took five out-of-state trips from December 2023 through February 2024.
He flew Delta Comfort+ every time, a step below first class, to Tucson, San Diego, Marco Island, and Washington D.C., according to a Freedom of Information Act request.
The school district picked up most of the tab.
Two of the trips were reimbursed by third parties, according to Kendra Montante, director of communications for the district, in an email to Michigan Capitol Confidential.
The first of the five trips was to the National Superintendents Forum and Special Education Congress in San Diego in December 2023.
23 Billion to rebuild – We went through this 20 years ago already
“Students deserve to learn in schools that ensure basic safety, health, and wellness standards are met,” Kenneth Gutman, superintendent of the Oakland Schools intermediate school district, said during a media roundtable Thursday. The study, he said, “tells us we are a long way from our schools meeting those basic standards.
But Michigan does not provide direct funding to schools for facilities. Districts must seek voter approval for funds to improve buildings and make major repairs.
“We know what the facility needs are, and so now we have to decide as a state, what do we want to do?” Gutman said.
The study was completed by the School Finance Research Foundation, which was created after state lawmakers called for a comprehensive report on the true cost of meeting basic K-12 education needs. The foundation has previously released studies showing what it costs to educate students — and the prevailing inequities in Michigan’s school funding system. Some of its findings have already prompted action by state leaders, including a system created under Gov. Gretchen Whitmer that provides more funding to districts for the most vulnerable students, including those from low-income homes, students with disabilities, and English language learners.
31K Discount on EV Proves McMurrow Wrong on New Auto Market, GM Dismal Results Wasted Our Subsidy
Sen. Mallory McMorrow, D-Royal Oak, spoke in favor of the bill, arguing some countries had already determined they will phase out internal combustion engine vehicles within the next few years.
“If we do not position our state, our workers and our signature industry to respond to this transition that we are living in, we will get left behind,” McMorrow said.
https://www.michigancapitolconfidential.com/votes/mcmorrow-admits-ev-transition-is-government-driven
“Anybody who is trying to convince you that it is a mandated transition is lying,” Sen. Mallory McMorrow, D-Royal Oak, said to close her speech.
But McMorrow started her remarks by admitting the role of governments in the transition.
“The reality is that more than a dozen countries around the world, including the population of most industrialized nations, have already determined that they will be phasing out internal combustion vehicles within a few years,” McMorrow said. “Maybe within the next five years, 10 years, 15 years, 20 years.”
- GM is experiencing low sales figures for its BrightDrop electric vans, resulting in a large accumulation of unsold inventory in storage lots in both Michigan (Flint) and Ontario, Canada. The company had initially projected substantial revenues from BrightDrop by 2030
- Due to the inventory glut, GM was forced to temporarily shut down its Ontario production plant. Following the reopening, GM began offering significant discounts of up to $31,000 on these vans.
- Despite the discounts, BrightDrop vans remain considerably more expensive than competitor models, which is cited as a major reason for the lagging sales.
- In 2024, GM sold only 1,529 BrightDrop vans, far fewer than Ford (12,610) and Rivian (13,243) sold in EV vans
Land Grab
Some Michigan Republicans want to block residents of “countries of concern” from buying property in broad swaths of the state to prevent “foreign adversaries” from infiltrating the United States.
The package of bills would target people and entities from China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Syria and Venezuela. Any “agency or other entity under significant control” of those countries would also be included.
Testifying to the state House Government Operations Committee on Thursday, state Rep. Gina Johnsen, R-Odessa Township, said there’s “growing concern” about foreign ownership of agricultural land, “particularly by entities from countries that may pose economic or security threats to the United States.”
Critics slammed the bills. In a statement, the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan called them “blatantly discriminatory and bigoted” and “an outright endorsement of xenophobia.”
“Property ownership should never be restricted based on nationality or immigration status,” the ACLU added.
Michigan has about 9.47 million acres of farmland. About 1.9 million acres of that is foreign-held, according to data from the US Department of Agriculture, but none is directly owned by countries the legislation seeks to prohibit.
The legislation follows longstanding concerns over foreign influence in the US.
Ag Success In MI, What if Diesel were cheaper? Opportunity if Ukraine isn’t exporting grain?
Topping the export charts? Processed food products, raking in $636 million. Not far behind were sugar beet and soybean products, brewing waste, and animal feed at $393 million. Dairy followed at $303 million, with pasta, bread, and other starches bringing in $285 million. Michigan’s wood products rounded out the top categories with $252 million.
Canada continued to be Michigan’s biggest customer, scooping up $1.25 billion in goods. Other top buyers included Mexico, South Korea, Japan, and China. MDARD Director Tim Boring said Michigan’s agriculture sector is standing strong despite shaky global markets and new tariffs.