Free Republic

Michigan Sen. Martha Scott filed petitions Monday to put her name on the Democratic primary ballot for U.S. representative in the 13th District. The person who currently holds that office is U.S. Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (D-Mich.) Scott has served as mayor of Highland Park, a state representative and now a state senator.

26 illegals nabbed in Upper Peninsula SAULT STE. MARIE, (AP) — Authorities say 26 illegal immigrants are being held in Chippewa County after a series of arrests over the weekend. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection office in Sault Ste. Marie said Monday it assisted the county sheriff's department after two vehicles were stopped near Trout Lake. ...... The remaining eight suspects were caught at a traffic stop near Munising. Agents say all 26 people were working for a local contractor.

Lansing - Even if the legislature gathers support to temporarily suspend the state's sales tax on gasoline, the plan won't be signed by Governor Jennifer Granholm. House Republicans are promoting a plan to suspend the tax for the summer to give relief to motorists struggling with record high gas prices. "It's not significant. It won't put millions of dollars in your pocket, but every little bit helps when gas is approaching $4.00 per gallon," said State Representative Dave Hildenbrand, a Lowell Republican said Monday outside an Lowell Mobil station. Liz Boyd, Governor Jennifer Granholm's spokesperson, told WZZM 13 today the...

General Motors Headquarters, Detroit(DETROIT) - General Motors Corp. says it has bought its previously leased headquarters in downtown Detroit's towering Renaissance Center for $626 million. GM revealed the May 1 purchase in a filing Thursday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. GM says it paid $626 million cash for the headquarters and $200 million cash for two office properties in nearby Pontiac, Mich. GM moved its headquarters from Detroit's Midtown neighborhood to the Renaissance Center in 1996 and has spent tens of millions of dollars on improvements to the complex, which includes Detroit's tallest building.

The latest Rasmussen Reports poll in Michigan shows McCain attracting 45% of the vote while Barack Obama earns 44%. Six percent (6%) say they would vote for a third-party candidate and 5% remain undecided. Those results are similar to a late-March survey that also showed McCain with a statistically insignificant one-point advantage. In February, McCain had a three-point lead.

Carl Levin has served in the United States Senate for 30 years and the first Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of his re-election bid suggest he’s likely to keep his job. Levin leads Republican state legislator Jack Hoogendyk by a 54% to 37% margin. Levin has won each of his last three re-election bids with 58% to 60% of the vote. He has not faced a serious election threat since 1984.

The public must pressure Republicans in the White House and Congress to change directions in the country's energy policies, which have pushed oil and gas prices to record highs, a Democratic lawmaker said Saturday. Sen. Debbie Stabenow said the rising price of oil, fostered by President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney's close ties to the oil industry, is no longer just a burden. "Now it is a crisis for every American family," the Michigan senator said in the Democrats' weekly radio address. She called the current energy situation "a crisis that doesn't just affect us at the pump, but...

When Chris Fegley and his son, 4-year-old Gavin, venture out for a meal, their restaurant choice depends on the location's smoke level. "I can appreciate the people that argue for clearly defined and walled-off areas with ventilation, that if they want to smoke in their area, that's fine," the 34-year-old Jackson resident said. "But we avoid restaurants that are smoking for (Gavin's) well-being." With the Michigan Senate's approval of a bill Thursday prohibiting smoking in all bars, restaurants and workplaces, the Fegleys soon might not have to be picky about where to dine. The bill, which passed by a 25-12...

Michigan Democratic leaders have settled on a plan to give presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton 69 delegates and Barack Obama 59 as a way to get the delegates seated at the national convention. Clinton won the Jan. 15 Michigan primary and was to get 73 delegates under state party rules. Obama was to get 55 delegates. The state also has 29 superdelegates. The state party's executive committee voted Wednesday to ask approval for the plan from the national party's Rules and Bylaws Committee. It would shrink Clinton's delegate edge from 18 to 10 and allow the 157 delegates and superdelegates...

Livonia, MI -- Local pro-life advocates in the Detroit area have found the bodies of babies killed in abortions and patient medical records in another Michigan abortion center's dumpster. The finding comes on the hells of one abortion facility that ran afoul of illegal dumping laws and was investigated by the state. This time, members of Citizens for a Pro-Life Society found the bodies, biohazard waste and medical records at the Women's Advisory abortion business in Livonia.

<p>LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan Democratic leaders have settled on a plan to give presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton 69 delegates and Barack Obama 59 as a way to get the delegates seated at the national convention.</p> <p>Clinton won the Jan. 15 Michigan primary and was to get 73 delegates under state party rules. Obama was to get 55 delegates.</p>

Chrysler is offering to subsidize the cost of gasoline for car and truck buyers, but its biggest rivals — General Motors, Toyota and Ford — said Tuesday they have no plans to match it. The Auburn Hills-based maker of Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep vehicles on Monday night announced an offer that caps the price of gasoline at $2.99 a gallon for three years for people who buy or lease new vehicles from Wednesday through June 2. The offer covers most of its models and is based on 12,000 miles of driving per year and the vehicle’s government fuel economy rating....

We would like to thank the people of Northern Michigan for their support and encouragement during the difficult period of the past six months since the tragedy of Matthew’s death. The communities that have shown support have been a real blessing to us and our extended families and friends. Words do NO justice for our gratitude. In the past, when Matthew left for deployment, the only thing to bring peace in our hearts was to think about his safe return. We know that won’t be happening now. However, Matthew and us have an extended family that reaches far beyond this...

DETROIT, May 5, 2008 – Patriotism was in full gear at the Chrysler headquarters today, as hundreds gathered inside the star-spangled atrium of the automaker’s main hub to honor America’s men and women in uniform. Robert Nardelli, chairman and chief executive officer of Chrysler, signs a 5-Star Military Support Agreement on May 5, 2008, in Auburn Hills, Mich., pledging the automaker's commitment to continue supporting employees who are called into active military service. Defense Department photo by John J. Kruzel  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. On the tiered floors of the glass-enclosed plaza here, employees hung over railings...

A preliminary hearing for a Westland woman who police say was paid for sex by Sen. Debbie Stabenow's husband has been postponed. Authorities say Thomas Athans paid Martin $150 for sex in a Troy hotel room in February. Police did not bring any sex charges against Athans.

Howard Dean appeared on the Daily Show and said definitively that the Michigan and Florida delegations will be seated. (H/t Scott Jacobs.) The video is here. Representative quotes: STEWART: If I were designing a plan to submarine your chances, and again, you don’t have to follow my advice here, I would take the state that was, let’s say crucial to the Republican election chances — lets, let’s call it Florida — and I would find a way to insult them. Maybe not seat them at the convention, that sort of thing. Then I would pick a Rust Belt state, maybe...

A few weeks ago, Detroit City Councilwoman Monica Conyers, wife of Congressman and House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-MI), erupted at Council President Kenneth Cockrel Jr. over some inconsequential, uninteresting slight, calling him "Shrek" and incoherently mumbling about his lack of "respect." David Freddoso links to this Detroit News video in which an unrepentant Mrs. Conyers attempts to justify her disgraceful behavior to a room full of pre-teen girls. Watch as Conyers gets worked—and I mean worked—by a delightful, clever, poised eighth grade girl named Kierra Bell:

·11250 Waples Mill Road ·   Fairfax, Virginia 22030    ·800-392-8683   Renewed Attack on Privacy of Gun Buyers   Friday, May 02, 2008   This week, anti-gun U.S. Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) introduced National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) registration legislation that would invade the privacy rights of law-abiding gun owners.Cosponsored by like-minded Sens. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Carl Levin (D-MI), Joseph Lieberman (I-CT), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Jack Reed (D-RI), and Charles Schumer (D-NY), S. 2935 would, among other things, require the FBI to retain records of cleared firearm transactions for at least 180 days.  Current law requires...

Madness -- politically correct madness. The FBI showed it wasn't anti-Arab by hiring Nada Prouty, and she handsomely repaid them for it, too. Nada Nadim Prouty Update: "Fake citizen worked on major terror cases," by David Ashenfelter for the Detroit Free Press (thanks to Sr. Soph): Nada Prouty, the Lebanese immigrant who parlayed a sham marriage into U.S. citizenship and key jobs at the FBI and CIA, worked on several counter-terrorism investigations, including the 2000 bombing of the U.S.S. Cole in Yemen, her lawyer said in court documents Thursday. "Nada Nadim Prouty accepts full responsibility for her actions and is...

DETROIT, May 1, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A funeral Mass burial for eighteen unborn babies will be offered this Saturday, May 3, by Bishop John Quinn of Detroit.  The remains of their bodies were discovered in dumpsters at the Woman Care abortion clinic on Southfield Road in Lathrup Village, Michigan which is operated by abortionist Alberto Hodari. Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life, called upon all of the nation's Catholic priests today to offer a Mass within the next few days for the "Hodari babies."  The pro-life group Citizens for a Pro-life Society headed by Monica Migliorino...

SANTEE, California (AP) -- Marie Walsh kept a low profile for 32 years, trying to escape her past life as Susan LeFevre. She raised three children with her husband of 23 years, Alan, who never knew she was using an assumed identity. Authorities wanted her for escaping from a Detroit prison a year into a maximum 20-year sentence on heroin charges. Now, LeFevre, 53, is in jail awaiting extradition from California to Michigan on an escape warrant. She was arrested April 24 outside her home in San Diego's posh Carmel Valley area, wearing a sweat suit and driving a black...

13-year-old girl who boldly told councilwoman to act her age shows off media savvy by refusing to comment further. Charlie LeDuff / The Detroit News Detroit News is on the no-post list Link to printable version

I didn’t laugh out loud until she said, “You have to know your boundaries,” but it’s the line at the end that really brings down the house. Note to young Kierra, righteous in her irritation: Her grasp of boundaries isn’t Mrs. Conyers’s strong suit.

DETROIT -- Newly released text messages in the City Hall scandal surrounding Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick show that the mayor had handpicked and promoted the head of Internal Affairs, the guy who would be in charge of investigating him if corruption charges ever surfaced.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — The U.S. marshals office in Grand Rapids says a woman who walked away from a Detroit-area prison in 1976 after being convicted on drug charges has been recaptured in California.Deputies say Susan Lefevre was living under the name of Marie Walsh in the San Diego suburb of Del Mar, Calif., when she was arrested Thursday at her home in an affluent neighborhood.Lefevre told them her husband and two children had no idea of her criminal conviction 32 years ago in Saginaw County or her escape from what now is the Robert Scott Correctional Facility in...

DETROIT -- A jury has been seated in the trial of outspoken lawyer Geoffrey Fieger on criminal campaign finance charges. The 56-year-old Fieger and his 46-year-old law partner Ven Johnson are accused of making $127,000 in illegal contributions to Democrat John Edwards' 2004 presidential campaign. Fieger also is charged with obstruction of justice. Both men have denied the charges. The Detroit News and Detroit Free Press report that a jury of 11 men and five women are expected to hear opening statements Thursday morning in federal court. Four alternates also were selected. Fieger is best known for representing assisted suicide...

Michigan Democrats working to get the state's delegates seated at the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday suggested splitting them 69-59 between presidential candidates Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama. The Democratic National Committee stripped Michigan of its 128 delegates for holding its presidential primary too early in the year. Clinton has argued that she should get 73 delegates based on the results of the Jan. 15 primary, which she won — 18 more than Obama. Obama, who removed his name from the ballot, wants the 128 pledged delegates split evenly, 64-64. The compromise, suggested Tuesday in a letter to Michigan...

A judge on Tuesday allowed the release of raunchy text messages that a lawyer allegedly used to get Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick to shell out $8 million in city money to make a police whistle-blower lawsuit go away.

If you watch much television, you've probably heard of a product called Mike's Hard Lemonade. And if you ask Christopher Ratte and his wife how they lost custody of their 7-year-old son, the short version is that nobody in the Ratte family watches much television. The way police and child protection workers figure it, Ratte should have known that what a Comerica Park vendor handed over when Ratte ordered a lemonade for his boy three Saturdays ago contained alcohol, and Ratte's ignorance justified placing young Leo in foster care until his dad got up to speed on the commercial beverage...

Sagging pickup truck and sport utility vehicle sales have forced General Motors Corp. to shut down one shift each at four North American factories and lay off about 3,500 workers. The world's largest automaker by sales said Monday that the cuts, to take effect starting this summer, were brought on by weak demand due to high gasoline prices and an economic downturn. The cuts will affect pickup factories in Pontiac and Flint, Mich., and Oshawa, Ontario, as well as the full-size SUV plant in Janesville, Wis. The layoffs represent just over 4 percent of GM's hourly manufacturing work force of...

If you watch much television, you've probably heard of a product called Mike's Hard Lemonade. And if you ask Christopher Ratte and his wife how they lost custody of their 7-year-old son, the short version is that nobody in the Ratte family watches much television. The way police and child protection workers figure it, Ratte should have known that what a Comerica Park vendor handed over when Ratte ordered a lemonade for his boy three Saturdays ago contained alcohol, and Ratte's ignorance justified placing young Leo in foster care until his dad got up to speed on the commercial beverage...

Were they commenting on the same speech? Rev. Jeremiah Wright goes before the Detroit NAACP, claims that black and white children learn with different parts of their brain, and offers a simpering, unflattering imitation of the way white pastors speak. CNN's Soledad O'Brien gushes that the speech was a "home run" and "really funny." But over at Morning Joe, Wright's words prompted a panel member to call the reverend a "mediocrity" and a "buffoon." View video here.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Boating season is approaching. And the Bush administration wants to enlist the country's 80 million recreational boaters to help reduce the chances that a small boat could deliver a deadly weapon somewhere along the country's 95,000 miles of coastline and inland waterways.

WINDSOR, Ontario (AP) - Mercury discharges into the Detroit River are causing cancer, amount to "child abuse" and are damaging the quality of life in this border city, American environmentalist Robert Kennedy Jr. said Sunday.

Jeremiah Wright speaking live now. Fascinating. You can also get it live streaming from CNN

Terry McAuliffe, Sen. Hillary Clinton's finance chairman, is one of the biggest proponents for counting Michigan's primary results even though the state violated Democratic Party rules by moving up its contest. However, Mark Nicholas finds an amazing passage in McAuliffe's own memoir, What A Party!, that shows he took a very different position as DNC Chairman four years ago.

He (Mayor Kilpatrick) habitually used city funds like his personal bank – running up $200,000 in spa treatments and champagne, for example, early in his term. The mayor reimbursed the city for about $9,000 after the scandal broke, claiming that the rest of the charges reflected legitimate city business. The city at the time was cutting police officers, and even auditors, to plug a $250 million budget deficit. But the latest, most spectacular scandal had its genesis at a party that supposedly took place in the mayoral mansion to celebrate Mr. Kilpatrick's election, shortly after he took office. The allegation...

The Detroit Police Department has suspended all firearms investigations conducted by its crime lab and ordered it to undergo an independent audit.

Detroit has earned another dubious honor, the second place on Forbes magazine's list for the worst cities in the United States for jobs.

Your Turn: Obama’s stance on guns is wrong for Montana By Erik Iverson - Your Turn - 04/17/08 When it comes to gun rights, Barack Obama isn’t shooting straight with Montana. I’ll be the first one to admit, Barack Obama is one of the finest political orators I’ve ever heard. But he can’t talk his way out of this simple fact: his views on the Second Amendment are simply out of step with the values of a vast majority of Montanans. Through both his words and his deeds, Barack Obama has shown that if elected President, he will try...

Volkswagen AG said Wednesday it has narrowed its list of states competing for a potential U.S. production facility to Alabama, Michigan and Tennessee. The German automaker said it was still evaluating whether to build a new plant in the United States and would make a final decision this summer. "We reviewed many excellent sites and the process to narrow down the locations was not an easy one. We look forward to continuing to work with the states of Alabama, Michigan and Tennessee as the evaluation moves forward," said Stefan Jacoby, Volkswagen Group of America's president and chief executive.

DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) -- Ford Motor Co. surprised Wall Street on Thursday with a $100 million profit in the first quarter as strong results from Europe and South America helped offset the impact of a slumping U.S. economy that cut car and truck sales in its main market

Democratic state lawmakers are introducing legislation they say would cut down on unintended pregnancies and protect women's health through expanded sex education and improved access to birth control. Health insurance plans that cover prescriptions would have to include coverage for contraception.

Kilpatrick told the crowd: "I'm not being whupped by the devil, I am being punished by my God. I know that my disobedience put me in the situation I am in."

Posted by George James Malik April 19, 2008 08:29AM According to the Free Press's Helene St. James, the NHL has banned Al Sobotka's classic twirling of octopi at Joe Louis Arena: April 18, Detroit Free Press: Just a little tidbit from Joe Louis Arena: The NHL has decided octopus twirling doesn't fit in with league image, or something to that effect. The Wings have been told by the league that if Al Sobotka (or anyone else) twirls the octopus that's thrown onto the ice before playoff games, it'll cost the team $10,000. I know opposing general managers have complained of...

Michigan House Bills 4490 and 4491 passed out of the Tourism and Outdoor Recreation Committee by a vote of 8 - 1. The Bills were sent to the full House April 16th. These bills would (1) eliminate the current requirement in the Michigan handgun licensure law that pistol owners obtain safety inspection certificates; (2) require that all existing records of inspection certificates maintained by local and state law enforcement officials be destroyed; and (3) eliminate the misdemeanor crime of failing to have one's pistol inspected. House Bill 4490 would repeal Section 9 of the handgun licensure act (MCL 28.429), which...

DELTA TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) -- Hundreds of workers streamed out of a General Motors Corp. assembly plant that makes crossover vehicles on Thursday, threatening the automaker's ability to build one of its most popular products. United Auto Workers members at the plant in Delta Township walked off their jobs just after a 10 a.m. deadline passed. The factory near Lansing makes the Buick Enclave, Saturn Outlook and GMC Acadia crossover vehicles that are selling well for GM. The strike is the first against GM over a local contract since a lengthy walkout in Flint back in 1998, said GM spokesman...

If there was any doubt that the drawn-out primary season is taking a toll on the Democratic Party's chances for victory in November, look no further than the events of April 15. As Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama raised the stakes (and the rhetoric) in Pennsylvania, John McCain finally decided to frame the economic debate. His speech on the economy got full cable TV coverage, while stories on Obama and Clinton were focused exclusively on "bitterness." The economy was supposed to be Democrats' ace in the hole this year. After all, a Republican can't win in the Rust Belt...

An 18-year-old teen was found guilty by a jury on Wednesday of killing a man, beheading him and torching the body. Jean Pierre Orlewicz of Plymouth, Mich., was the teenager responsible for the atrocious killing. He was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in the case of the Nov. 7 killing of Daniel Sorensen, a 26-year-old young man from River Rouge in Wayne County's Canton Township. After only one day of deliberations, the jury has reached a verdict in Orlewicz case. The conviction carries a mandatory punishment of life in prison without parole. His defense team already announced their intention...

Two Girl Scouts Start Campaign Against Cookie Sales By MARJORIE KAUTH-KARJALA   Seventh graders Rhiannon Tomtishen, left, and Madison Vorva are helping to save orangutans by raising awareness of the effect of palm oil plantations on the primate's habitat. (Photo by Leisa Thompson)     ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Two middle school students who started a project to earn a Girl Scout award have ended up rejecting what may be the best known of their organization's symbols: Girl Scout cookies. Madison Vorva and Rhiannon Tomtishen, both 12, started doing research last fall on endangered orangutans in Indonesia as part of...