Michigan “Don’t Get No Respect”

With all due respect to Rodney Dangerfield, the candidates have been kicking Michigan to the curb all year! First, Barack Obama and other major Democratic candidates agreed to not campaign in Michigan because the state moved its primary date up. All but Hillary Clinton took their names off the ballot. When asked about this, she answered out of both sides of her mouth. First she said she didn’t want to alienate Michigan voters. But she also said that Michigan’s vote is “not going to count for anything.”

So, Obama dissed Michigan by pulling his name from the primary ballot. Clinton, in what shouldn’t seem like a new double-speak, tried to play both sides by staying on the ballot, yet also minimalizing the state’s significance to nothing. And what does the Democratic National Committee, a private organization, have to do with when Michigan, a governmental entity sets its primary date for? The DNC can take a flying leap, if you ask me.

Now, apparently, Hillary’s message has affected John McCain. It seems the McCain campaign has left Michigan behind. The state with the worst unemployment doesn’t matter to him. Mark my words: if McCain’s not spending money in Michigan, neither will Obama. Already a beleaguered state, Obama turned his back in January and now McCain’s kicking Michiganians while they’re down. And, oddly, both were in favor of rescuing Wall Street.

So, here’s where I’m at. None of the Democratic candidates were suitable because they pulled their names from the primary ballot (except for Kusinich, who claimed he tried and Clinton). If Michigan doesn’t matter to them in the primary, why should I believe them when they say it does now? And, interestingly, Hillary sure thought Michigan mattered before Obama put her under. Personally, I felt the issue had to do with disenfranchisement, a mantra Hillary seemed to pick up once she realized Michigan really did matter.

Likewise, since McCain has turned his back on Michigan in a rather flamboyant manner, why should I expect him to care out the state and its people if he were president? On a logical level, I can understand the strategy, but the implementation is so overbearing as to cast serious doubt on the man’s credibility to run the country! This is a rather bittersweet conclusion for me to reach as I rather liked McCain in the previous election campaign. But, honestly! Even Michigan Republicans are upset with how this went down. We’ve already had 8 years of a man who does what he wants without considering the consequences. To me, this one single choice, and how it was handled, is far more telling than anyone probably imagined. Until now, I’ve resisted the “4 more years” analogy, but do we really want to continue a leadership style as flippant as this?

That leaves 4 other parties to choose from: the Greens, the Natural Law Party, the Libertarians, and the US Taxpayer’s Party. Of these, polls showed Barr (Lib) and Nader (NLP) at 2% each, nationally, when the two candidates made Michigan’s ballot. Another poll puts Nader at 6%. What do you think would happen if everyone who is as disenchanted with the so similar major parties decided to vote otherwise? We could even reclaim representative democracy for the people!

Traffic Lights Prevent Reduced Dependence on Foreign Oil

Every now and then, I have to find a way around the slow/not moving traffic on the expressway. Today was one of those days. But, it’s a mixed blessing. While I was making progress, I had to stop at every fricking intersection! You see, the lights are not timed to facilitate the smooth flow of traffic at the posted speed limit. In fact, the lights in this particular area are so close together that you never get to the posted speed limit before you stop for the next light!

I’m not mentioning any names, but Harrison Ave in East Lansing MI isn’t the only culprit. I live in Oakland County, just north of Detroit, where many intersections are tied into the so-called FAST-TRAC system. This system relies on cameras at key intersections. The problem is, the cameras are aimed at the intersection, so they can’t see that traffic is backed up for a half-mile before the intersection. As a result, the traffic lights happily go through their routine sequences, thinking they’re moving traffic when, in fact, they are the cause of traffic back-ups. These same intersections seem to go through their programmed sequences, regardless of the presence or absence of traffic. Why, for example, does the left turn signal sequence still go through its cycle at 5:30 AM when no one’s in the left turn lane?

I have seen camera controlled intersections turn red for the main roadway even though there are no cars on the other roads. I often have occasion to drive on Southfield Road between I-696 and 13 Mile Road. This 2-mile stretch has 7 camera-controlled intersections that seem to operate independent of each other. Expect to stop at at least three of the lights. Similarly, I have on occasion exited I-696 and taken 12 Mile Road to avoid congestion, only to find myself stopping at countless traffic lights and sometimes taking 2-3 cycles just to get to the light. This inhibits traffic flow; it doesn’t facilitate it. In my opinion, camera-controlled intersections are waste, fraud, and abuse of the taxpayer’s money.

Besides being frustrating, stopping at all those traffic lights wastes fuel! This is the 21st century! We have the technology to time the lights properly, if we want to. Some streets are already well-timed, like Eight Mile, Telegraph (mostly), Woodward, and Mound. Why not the others?