Slaughterhouse 2010, Michigan Edition

Quite a night in Michigan politics. This is just a quick update; more detail forthcoming in the comments when I have time.

Unsurprisingly, Republicans took the Governor/Lt Governor (welcome Governor Rick Snyder and Brian Calley), The Secretary of State (Ruth Johnson) and the Attorney General (Bill Schuette).

Still somewhat unsurprisingly (but less so), the Republicans gained a super-majority in the State Senate. They have held that Chamber for a decade now, but Dems have controlled enough to be able to raise some procedural Hell when they needed to make a statement. But after last night, Republicans hold that chamber 26-12. The next Majority Leader in the State Senate is likely to be Senator Randy Richardville from Monroe. Actually a really good guy and a class-act. Little comfort for the Dems, though. No Democratic incumbents lost, but not that many were coming back anyway, what with 29 of the 38 seats being open due to term limits.

The surprise was that the Dems lost majority in the House. They started with 67 seats and last night the Republicans regained the House 63-47. That's nearly a 20-seat swing, folks. Equally shocking were the number of incumbents that lost: 9. 9 Democratic incumbents lost their seats, and Dems lost all but 2 open seats that were "in play." Jase Bolger, a Republican from Marshall (H/T to the home of Dark Horse Brewing Company!) is the next likely Speaker of the House. Of 13 "battleground" open seats (there were many more open seats, but many of those are safe...or were...), Dems won exactly 2 of them. 2.

Hell, Gary Peters, one of our Congressmen from Oakland County, barely won re-election against a guy who changed his name to "Rocky." Mark Schauer, a Dem with a mild manner, brains, and a decent policy mind, lost to the demon-spawn of Grandpa Simpson and Herman Munster. Gary McDowell, a Dem trying to replace long-serving Bart Stupak in the Democratic 1st District U.P. congressional seat, lost to a Tea Party candidate and birther.

In August, Michigan's Supreme Court was tipped 4-3 in favor of Dems when Granholm appointed Justice Alton Thomas Davis to replace outgoing "Republican" Justice Betty Weaver. Davis lost his chance at election last night, as voters returned incumbent Justice Bob Young and placed Mary Beth Kelly on the bench; it is highly unusual for a non-incumbent (Kelly) to beat an incumbent (Davis), but given how the votes went last night, and the fact that Kelly and Young ran together and even had their names together on yard signs, it's no big surprise.

At least we won't have to waste our time with a constitutional convention. That proposal get killed.

Now to pick up the pieces, figure out whose ass to kiss, and get busy!

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Fun With Gourds

So for Halloween this year, rather than just a standard pumpkin, I decided to do something a little more special. Sure, everyone in the world has done the barfing pumpkin. It's fun and appealing for sure.

But in the spirit of Calvin and Hobbes Snowmen, I decided to do Cannibal Pumpkin!

I am already thinking of ideas for next year.  Maybe a Jesus Pumpkin, with eyes skyward, mouth  pensively prayerful, with 12 little gourds surrounding it?

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The Square Of Taste

Big, giant beers will always hold some sort of magic voodoo over me. I do, and always will, enjoy a well-crafted beer of nearly any style; Short's Bellaire Brown and even Michigan Brewing Company's Majestic Nut Brown are wonderful examples of a simple style done well...and enjoyed copiously. But there's this allure for me for these impossibly big beers. Perhaps it's my own predilection for larger-than-life? Plain bacon sucks; gimmie a bacon that smells and tastes like a camp fire. Folgers is crap; a Cafe' Americano is the lightest coffee I drink (and drink it I do...). While I appreciate subtlety and simplicity, it's bigness and boldness that really gets me going. I tolerate baseball and watch basketball, but love football and hockey. Subtle as a train wreck.

So when beer buddy Greg journeys to the far-off metropolis of Pittsburgh and returns with a beer from Terrapin Brewery's (Athens, GA) "Monster Beer Tour" series, I just can't help myself. He knows me so well.

This offering is Terrapin's Rye Squared Imperial Pale Ale. Add the word "Imperial" in front of your beer, and you've sold me; Imperial Anything holds the promise of ridiculously big flavors. I'm a sucker for marketing. Terrapin says "double the malt, double the hops, and double the flavor of the original Rye Pale Ale recipe." I'm verklempt.

Rye Squared pours a bright orange with an off-white, creamy head. The thick head leaves beautiful rings of lacing down my glass. Slightly hazy from the loads of hops that Terrapin drowned in this brew, the appearance of this beer alone is enough to convince me it's a beer I'll enjoy.

But I can't just look at a beer; that'd be a waste. I'll prolong my anticipation by taking-in the aroma first. Big huge citrus aromas hit me and remind me of my favorite West Coast IPA; all grapefruit, orange peel, orange blossom and tart apples greet my nose and promise me that I'm going to love this beer. And if evoking the memory of the best IPA I've ever had isn't enough, the huge malty sticky syrupy aroma behind the wall of Floridian fruits seals the deal for me. Gotta have some. Complimentary to the malty-sweet is just a hint of bread dough. But clearly on the nose, the hops win all my attention.

The taste doesn't disappoint. Hops and malt work in conjunction to bring me the beer I was hoping for: a sticky-sweet hop bomb. Big tangy citrus mixes with a northern Michigan pine forest to drive my tongue mad. Far from being all-hops, though, all of the sticky-sweetness of caramel and toffee are front-and-center, providing a great base for the huge hops to not overwhelm your tastebuds. I'll cast a few platitudes to breadiness and even some floral hops as well. Mild carbonation serves to cleanse the tongue between quaffs, helping enjoy this resiny, sticky beer without losing all sensation.

This Imperial Pale Ale bridges the gap between Pale Ales, Barley Wines and India Pale Ales of the highest order. It is truly a separate style from each of those three, deserving a class of its own to be sure. If you are a fan of giant Barley Wines or tangy West Coast IPAs, this is your beer. Surprisingly, though, it's not overwhelming. It's a do-able gateway to even bigger beers, even though it's a big beer in and of itself. And for this big beer enthusiast, Terrapin Rye Squared certainly kept me captive throughout the entire pint.

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Like a Voice from Beyond the Grave...

Ah christ, you people are too much.

Where has Rickey been? Whither the great one? Certainly, this nagging question has caused many sleepless nights for all of you. What could possibly be more fulfilling than impersonating a crazed former baseball player?

…Well, as you know, it is election season and let’s just say that those potential voters aren’t going to intimidate themselves.

In all seriousness, the big reason RwR is on hiatus is because Rickey’s work responsibilities have recently expanded and he now holds a position which could be jeopardized by gossipy coworkers who perchance stumble across his profane little blog. (Yes Smitty, you were spot on—Rickey is a Honduran hitman. The dental plan is shockingly good).

The good news? Nobody out there knows jack shit about THIS blog. So Rickey’s officially taking refuge here. For the immediate future, ATK shall be Rickey’s new roost. A brand new venue for all things political, alcohol, and fellatio related. In other words, a blank slate ripe for defecation (and mixed metaphors!). Prepare to reap the whirlwind, gentlemen.

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Lies, BS, and Campaign Ads

I was driving my 7 year old to school the other day and she commented on an ad she saw on TV. Basically, she said she wouldn't vote for one of the candidates because she heard he wanted to get rid of social security and she didn't think that was fair. While I agreed that wasn't fair, I also pointed out that most claims in ads are not true, or at least only partially true.

This year is no exception. If you are unlucky enough to live in the Mid-Michigan Area, you probably have seen the ads for Mark Schauer and Tim Walberg. I would seriously consider not voting for either of them based on how bad those ads are. That being said, they are not all that unusual. We are often treted to negative ads where one candidate distorts the record and positions of their opponent. Fortunately, a voter has some fact checking resources and can see what is what with a minimal amount of effort.

This isn't always the case. In the last few weeks, I have started to see ads for the Michigan Supreme Court. They started off with the typical "tough on crime" and "fair and just" type. Michigan, unfortunately, has s system where we elect the Supreme Court for a fixed term. The Court gets little coverage and I would guess that most people couldn't name a single Justice. Most people that are running just try and get their name out and hope that voters will remember come election time. Another interesting aspect of our state is that Justices are non-partisan. While this seems like a good idea, both parties still claim their candidates and run ads. In addition, a variety of other advocacy groups run ads.

These ads are especially annoying because they rely on people's ignorance of how the State Supreme Court works and present an overly simplistic view. They will take a case where a Justice may have supported the free speech rights of some obnoxious bigot and say that it shows the Justice supports the bigot. This is simply not true and is grossly unfair.

There is an ad that is being run against candidate Bob Young that was paid for by several environmental groups. I couldn't find that ad, but found a very similar one that was put out by the Michigan Democratic Party. Here it is:



Holy Shit! Bob Young would let polluters off the hook. That isn't good and voters certainly deserve to know if he would, or did, do this. The TV ad focuses mostly on the claim that Young would prevent citizens from being able to sue a company that perpetrated some major BP-style disaster. In support of this, they list a case at the bottom of the screen in tiny print, MCWC v. Nestle, 479 Mich 280 (2007). I was skeptical and wondered if this case could show that Young was as bad as the ad says.

The above mentioned case deals with an environmental group that sued Nestle to enjoin them from operating a bottled water plant in Michigan. I remember when this was going on and it was controversial. The rather dull 36 page case boils down to a question of standing. Young basically said that in regards to one of the lakes, the plaintiffs did not have standing and could not proceed. Standing is legal principal that goes back hundreds of years and was the topic of many of the first cases heard by the US Supreme Court. It has been well litigated and is very well established. In order to have standing, a plaintiff must establish 3 things:

1. Injury: The plaintiff must have suffered or imminently will suffer injury—an invasion of a legally protected interest that is concrete and particularized. The injury must be actual or imminent, distinct and palpable, not abstract. This injury could be economic as well as non-economic.

2. Causation: There must be a causal connection between the injury and the conduct complained of, so that the injury is fairly traceable to the challenged action of the defendant and not the result of the independent action of some third party who is not before the court.

3. Redressability: It must be likely, as opposed to merely speculative, that a favorable court decision will redress the injury.

Young said that the plaintiff did not satisfy the first requirement. The facts showed that none of the plaintiffs lived on or near the lake in question, so that they could not have suffered any injury. What the group should have done was add a plaintiff that lived on that lake. There is a ton of case law that supports Young's conclusion and it is not an area of law that is all that novel. In other words, Young most likely made the right decision that was supported by past cases, both at the state and federal level.

Young may very well be a tool of corporations, but this ad is deceptive and misleading. I have a hard time making the leap from that decision to say that he would allow polluters to have a free ride. I should note that I am in no way endorsing Bob Young, nor do I want to just pick on the people that oppose him. I would like to point out that if you are going to vote for a Supreme Court Justice, you should be basing your decision on logic and reason, not BS conjecture.

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Unhinged

Sure, it was a stupid political stunt, and this is a stupid season, but stomping on her head? Bet that took a real man to do this, dumb-fuck hick.

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Can't Wait to Smell the Sawdust.

This has nothing to do with beer or politics, but we here at ATK sometimes delve into hobbies and home improvement, and I cannot help but giggle like a school girl at my latest purchase - I new big-ass table saw capable of cutting darn near anything I can throw at it.

Don't let the store brand fool you, this is the same saw sold by several other brands, but Craftsman sells it for hundreds less.  I have rediscovered Sears and have been eyeballing this saw for a few years.  It went on sale this week, so I ordered one up.

Anyone want to help me get it to my basement?  It will arrive in pieces, but in total weighs close to 500 lbs, so takes two guys to move it.  I pay in beer - good beer.

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