TENNESSEE POLICE SHOOT MAN SUSPECTED OF KILLING MICHIGAN RESIDENT: The man police believe shot and killed Stacey Sherman of Applegate in Knoxville was killed Sunday night. More at GunPundit.
SEEMS LIKE A NO-BRAINER, DOESN’T IT? Illegal immigrants can no longer get a Michigan driver’s license
Michigan has been one of eight states to allow undocumented immigrants to get driver’s licenses. Attorney general opinions are legally binding on state agencies and officers unless reversed by the courts.
It was not immediately known how soon the opinion may take effect or what it means for illegal immigrants with currently valid licenses.
Michigan law prohibits the secretary of state from issuing a driver’s license to a nonresident. Cox, a Republican, said it would be inconsistent with federal law to regard an illegal immigrant as a permanent resident in Michigan.
This has been utterly ridiculous, and it’s about time they reversed this. Full opinion here.
CoHS #104: Last Carnival of Homeschooling in 2007
ONE MORE STORY: At first, this new program at the Kent District Library looks good:
One More Story is an online library of children’s classic and contemporary literature. Simply point and click, and children can choose a book, see illustrations and have the book read to them on the computer. As the narrator reads, words are highlighted at the bottom of the screen. Children can also read along or hear only the words they don’t know.
This looks great. Reading is key to successful education and life, and reading aloud to kids is vital. We’ve had great success with audiobooks, and an online version with the text available is a great idea.
But there’s this:
One More Story is available only within the library and is featured on all of KDL’s youth computers, which all have a variety of fun and educational games sure to please your little ones. So visit your local KDL branch today!
Honestly, that’s stupid. Who is going to go to the library to sit at a computer and watch/listen to a book. The place is full of actual books. Families that are making the effort to travel to and spend time at the library aren’t the ones who need a resource like this. It’s those who can’t or won’t take the time to visit the library that could benefit from this.
Kids at home logging on and hearing classic children’s stories, improving their reading skills while they’re at it. Instead of playing more video games. By making this available online, the library would be proving a valuable service to those who might not have access otherwise, and those are probably the ones that need it the most. Seems like a winner to me.
Unless this becomes available over the internet, I don’t see it making much difference.
MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE. Though the weather outside is frightful, we’re off shortly to celebrate with family and friends.
Also, take a moment to remember all of our servicemen and women who are away from their families this holiday. So many of us owe so much to so few. Let’s not forget them while we make merry.
I hope you all have a great holiday. Take it easy on the roads.
Merry Christmas and God Bless America.
CARNIVAL OF HOMESCHOOLING: This week at The Common Room.
FINALLY: Michigan’s jobless rate dips in November
All the way down to 7.4%. Down three-tenths and the first month-to-month drop since May.
The national rate held steady for the third straight month at 4.7%.
SPINVILLE: NESTLE’S HOME TOWN. Great Lakes Blogger notes that Nestle seems to be living by rules where taking water out of a stream doesn’t lessen the amount of water in that stream.
At the next hearing, we may hear that the more water Nestle pumps, the more there is in the stream.
There are so many things that threaten Michigan’s water a little here and a little there. This plan seems set to take more than a little.
POTENTIALLY BAD: Tritium found in groundwater near Palisades
A radioactive substance has been found in the groundwater near the Palisades Nuclear Power Plant in Covert Township.
A spokesperson for the plant told 24 Hour News 8 that tritium - a radioactive form of hydrogen - was found between the facility and Lake Michigan during monitoring.
There is no evidence that other water fields or the water table are affected.
Tritium can be naturally-occurring, but it seems more than a bit suspicious near the nuclear power plant. Hopefully, whatever the origin, it’s not serious.
I’m a strong proponent of nuclear electricity generation, but I obviously only support SAFE power plants.
NOT TO BE BANNED: MI Senate snuffs out smoking ban in bars, restaurants
Efforts to ban smoking in Michigan bars, restaurants and other workplaces were snuffed out in the state Senate Tuesday.
Republicans who control the chamber sent smoking-ban legislation to a committee where bills traditionally go to die. In a rare move, Democrats tried to steer it to the Health Policy Committee instead because the panel’s Republican chairman supports the ban.
“This says we have a do-nothing Senate whose leadership does not want to deal with the smoking issue,” said Sen. Ray Basham, D-Taylor, a longtime smoking ban supporter.
From a philosophical standpoint, I don’t normally agree with government-mandated bans on smoking in private locations, even when it’s a private place open to the public. That being said, I am much more likely to have a positive experience in a place where smoking is not allowed.
I just think it should be up to the business owner.