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I am making a transition from one host to another so things may look (and be) out of place for a couple of days. I hope to have everything back in place by the end of the weekend.
It’s like finding a needle in a haystack
Michigan legislators vote on hundreds of bills every year. Spotting the most important votes could feel like a full-time job.
Vote Spotter is an app developed by the Mackinac Center of Public Policy for the iPhone (and soon Android) that enables you to track the legislation that your local legislators are voting on and how they vote. The bills are written in plain English and you can select the type of legislation you are interested in provide feedback. I was a little disappointed that “firearms” was not one of the preset categories but I guess that doesn’t really fit the kind of content that the Mackinac Center for Public Policy focuses on so it makes some sense (I guess), Also this does feel a little like a version 1 app so maybe this is something that will be added in a later update. There is are some “social” elements included that may help people get the word out on particular legislation as the community around this app grows. I am excited to see what future updates bring.
For more information about this app see the Vote Spotter website here.
The American Spirit of Resistance
I don’t know if this caption is real or not but damn I sure hope so.
I have heard from a new visitor of this site that it seems defunct, which I completely agree with. It does. And I intend to correct that starting today.
I have also heard in the past that with the newer format that I put in place a year or so ago that it isn’t always clear to people that there is a new forum included with this blog. So going forward and each week I am going to post the topic to the front page of the site.
For example:
Last Weeks Liberty1st Posts
In an effort to revive the Liberty 1st Forum I am going to start posting the most recent posts to the forum on the front page of this blog as well as committing to at least 4 posts a week for at least two months.
Also in another Liberty Revival project I am looking for some other people who would like to post about topics concerning Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. So if you are a person interested in Liberty and would like to write about it on a regular (or semi regular) basis I would love to get some guests posts on the subject. Please Email or post a comment to the thread if you are interested in doing so.
And last of all I am working with a couple of other people to launch another site around one of my favorite topics concerning Liberty, which should be announced sometime mid summer 2014.
Never open carried before? Well here is your chance! Just curious? Here’s a great opportunity to come get some questions answered and see other OC’ers “in action” Michigan Open Carry is inviting you to come have lunch with us at IHOP in Woodhaven. December 15th is Bill of Rights Day, and is set as “Guns Save Lives Day” by other pro gun groups. So come on out with us and celebrate both with MOC!
The Michigan Open Carry forum has announced that their next open carry event in Michigan will be held on December 15th in Woodhaven, MI. at 1:00PM. More about them and this Open Carry event can be found here.
MSN has this article titled Michigan lawmakers take their beer really, really seriously
Michigan lawmakers have proposed the most important bill of the century. Introduced last week, it would require every pint of beer to contain at least 16 ounces of the precious liquid.
While most things going on in American politics today go the opposite way from my political core this is something that I don’t find so distasteful (so to speak).
Concealed Pistol License (CPL) applications in St. Joseph County have risen sharply in 2013, according to the Michigan State Police.
Last year, MSP received an average of 481 applications for permits and approved 463 of those for licensure. So far this year, there have been an average of 626 applications received and 523 approved, according to MSP.
“Within the past year, records have been broken as far as the number of background checks done for the purchase of firearms,” said Debra Smith, manager for the Michigan State Police firearms records unit. “We have also seen an increase in the number of people that apply for or receive concealed pistol licenses.”
No surprises here. I think this just says that St Joseph County is keeping pace with the rest of the country where conceal carry is legal.
The article in the Three Rivers Commercial also mentions that the Three Rivers Police Dept. offers a CCW (CPL) class but it doesn’t provide any additional information about it. If you know any specifics please post them to the comments and I will update this article later. See the entire article here.
As a side note: If you have even wondered which states allow concealed carry and more specifically which states honor Michigan’s CPL I have included a graphic from the Michigan Coalition of Responsible Gun Owners below.
At present, States shaded in blue will not honor the Michigan CPL.
Check out their site for more Gun Related News.
MLive has this article, “Top Michigan craft beer brewers talk expansion plans as lawmakers consider easing regulations”
Michigan’s craft beer industry is booming, and state lawmakers are looking to loosen the proverbial belt buckle and allow for future growth.
Apparently this is a part of a bipartisan movement to reduce regulations and encourage the expansion of micro breweries.
“There were some arbitrary caps put in place, and I think that was done largely just to set some number so these operations could begin,” said Cotter. “Now, we’ve had a great deal of success. Many of these brewers are not only supplying their products across Michigan, but also sending their product to many other states. This has been good for our economy and good for jobs.”
I have only recently discovered and participated in the micro brew phenomena that has been going on for the last 10 years or so and hadn’t realized how big it has become in Michigan.
And while I certainly appreciate any movement toward more freedom I have to wonder why it was necessary (or why someone thought it was necessary) to have these restrictions on these businesses in the first place.
“Craft beer tends to have higher alcohol content and price, and price trumps everything when it comes to health and safety,” said Marie Hansen of MAP, which generally opposes legislation that would expand alcohol consumption and has proposed increased sin taxes.
Oh yea. That’s why. People like Marie Hansen of MAP (whoever and whatever that is) think they know better about what is good and right for us. I Googled Marie and MAP but couldn’t find anything about either of them but I do have to say her / their logic makes complete sense to me. Of course the expansion of breweries in my area means that I will lose all self control and not be to make be able to make responsible decisions for my self.
MMMMM
I will drink to that! 
Related link:
Update: If you know of any other “Open Carry” events coming up, in Michigan, please post them in the comments.
The Michigan Coalition of Responsible Gun Owners, Michigan Gun Owners and Michigan Open Carry, Inc. are inviting the public to a “Second Amendment BBQ” from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28.
The organizations will provide free hot dogs and pop. Visitors are asked to bring a dish to pass and a gun.
At some point I am going to include an events page for this type of post but until then this will have to do. You can find out more about the event from this article at MLive titled, “Guns encouraged at Riverside Park picnic; Grand Rapids Mayor George Heartwell invited”
For those of you interested in the organizations putting on the event you can find out more about them at these links:
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