Down to Brighton yesterday. Back to Petoskey today. In between, we watched my grandson play a flag football game, made Christmas cookies with our four grandchildren plus Katy and Brad and had a family movie night with Katy, Brad, Alaina, Nolan, and Kaylen. We watched Home Alone 2. It is all about making memories. Unfortunately, Chris had to work. We safely navigated the snowy, wet, and windy drive home today.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Saturday was a good day for Michigan sports fans. In basketball MSU surprised #6 Baylor at Little Ceasars Arena with a blowout win and the Wolverines cruised to an easy win over my alma mater Eastern Michigan. Then the Lions played probably their most complete game of the season as they dominated Denver on offense and defense. The magic number for the Lions to win the North Division is one over the next three games. One win by the Lions or one loss by the Vikings and the Lions win the division and will host a home playoff game for the first time at Ford Field. However, the Lions get my Onion of the Day. See below.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Last week in the 6th district court in Flint, District Court Judge William Crawford issued a final order of dismissal against former governor Rick Snyder.in the Flint Water Crisis. The order included the following order.
- The case and all pending charges against Defendant Snyder are dismissed.
- The Michigan State Police and the arresting/booking agency shall destroy the arrest/booking records, all biometric data, all fingerprint record, and if applicable, the DNA profile for the dismissed charges. The Michigan State Police shall also remove all LEIN entries concerning the dismissed charges.
I received a copy of the order from a close friend which included an email from Dick Posthumus’, former Lieutenant Governor under Engler, and senior advisor to Governor Snyder. Here is Posthumus’ email. It is good advice for all of us. This becomes my Quote of the Day
Happy Holidays to all!
Thank you for supporting the cause to defend against a purely political prosecution of good people. The long nightmare has finally ended. …..
Things we should not forget, lest this happen to others:
- It has been 2,549 days since the first criminal charges were filed against public servants who put their heart and soul into serving all Michiganders. That is SEVEN YEARS of good people being unjustly accused of wrongdoing with no facts to back it up.
- More than $60 million taxpayer dollars have been wasted as this fatally flawed prosecution wound its way through local and state courts. The Attorney General’s Office put pride above service and wasn’t candid with the courts or the people, continuing to spend other people’s money for personal gain through political grandstanding.
- Civil servants, department leaders, and elected officials have had their lives adversely impacted. The cost of lost career opportunities is unimaginable to the rest of us. But even more painful to realize is the sorrow suffered by these individuals and their families as they lived through 7 years of torment. Thankfully, our system of checks and balances ultimately prevailed, with the judicial system overruling, overturning, and rejecting every attempt made by the Attorney General to gain political points at any cost.
Where do we go from here? …The rest of us must continue encouraging good people to work for state and local governments. We hope this is the last political persecution we ever witness in our state. Well-qualified, caring, and well-intentioned professionals should not shy away from public service because the risk of becoming a political target is too prevalent.
Please get involved in public service if you can. Or, if not, stay engaged in what’s happening at every level of government. Showing your support for those willing to go the extra mile and serve you as part of your government is something every civil servant and elected official wholeheartedly appreciates.
We can never let political grandstanding, ruthless persecution, and abuse of public power for personal gain be wielded in this state. We are better than that. We are stronger together. We are Michigan.
I wish you a blessed holiday season and a bright new year filled with opportunity and peace for you and your loved ones.
Dick
Feel free to share my blog. To receive it in an email, please see the subscribe button below the Video of the Day.
Quote of the Day: See above from Dick Posthumus.
Orchid of the Day: The Spartans basketball team and the Lions. You were fun to watch on Saturday.
Onion of the Day: The Detroit Lions, who are raising their season ticket prices for next season 50-70% depending on the location of the seat. At least they could have waited until they won a playoff game.
Questions of the Day: Are you ready for Christmas? You only have one week.
Image/Video of the Day: A true little drummer boy.