HONOLULU WATCH, DAY 2

About L.A.W.

MOTTO: Qui male agit odit lucem. ("He who does evil despises the light.")
PUBLISHER: Local Area Watch, Inc. ~ a Michigan non-profit corporation ~ Copyright 2002-2011
STAFF: William Tingley, Executive Director ~ Bridget Tingley, Editor ~ Mary Green, Office Manager
CONTACT INFO: Local Area Watch, Inc. ~ 1009 Ottawa Avenue, N.W. ~ Grand Rapids, Michigan 49503 ~ ph 616-458-3125 ~ fx 616-454-9958

Other Third Wave Junta Websites

Datafacturing Planet
Where metal meets the Information Age.
The River City Zek
Dissident commentary on crony-capitalism in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
The Fat Land
A Generation Apart: From space sticks to soylent green.
The Local Area Watch
Reporting the news the news won't report in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Vine & Branch
The culture of life in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Government Links

Public Interest Links

DISCLAIMER: We do not necessarily endorse the views expressed by the organizations listed below, although we have found them to provide useful information for the engaged citizen.
Accuracy in Media
Media watchdog from the right.
American Center for Law & Justice
The conservative counterweight to the ACLU.
American Civil Liberties Union
That hoary guardian of our civil liberties ... at least the ones the left considers worth protecting.
American Enterprise Institute
Centrist think tank.
Center for Public Integrity
Scrutinizes the actions of public officials.
Fact Check
Checks the public statements of politicians against the facts.
Families United for Justice
Watchdog of the local scene, including links to stories of corruption in Michigan.
Mackinac Center for Public Policy
Free-market think tank with a special focus on Michigan issues.
Martindale Directory
National directory for lawyers and law firms.
Media Transparency
Media watchdog from the left with good databases on funding sources for non-profit organizations.
Michigan Liberal
Michigan politics for the left-wingers.
Nolo
Kill all the lawyers? DIY center for agreements, legal documents, and litigation.
Open Secrets
Who's buying who? Search for campaign contributions made in state and federal elections.
Right Michigan
Michigan politics for the right-wingers.
Society of Professional Journalists
A link to the SPJ's FOIA toolkit for requesting documents from the government.
Taxpayers Against Fraud
Watchdog for fraud in the federal government and information center for the False Claims Act.
The Brookings Institute
Liberal think tank.
The Cato Institute
Libertarian think tank.
The Heritage Foundation
Conservative think tank.
Wikipedia
The web-based encyclopedia for those who understand the admonition "Caveat lector!"

Media Links

May 19, 2007

Sweet relief for our trusted public servants enduring the rigors of NCPERS 2007 at the Waikiki Hilton in Honolulu, Hawaii. They should have completed Part II of the "Manager Challenge". I'll bet that's a load off their minds. Now they only have to spend a couple more hours getting through the ""DB/DC Discussion Panel", "Legal Issues Facing Trustees", and "Presentation of Continuing Education Certificates".

I'm pretty sure that last one really isn't a training topic but an actual presentation of a continuing education certificate to each of our city and county public pension fund officials in attendance. Quite an honor. Could you blame any of them for wanting to celebrate their graduation with a beach party when class is out at 1:00 p.m.? I for one will not be so churlish.

Posted on May 19, 2007 at 02:48 PM in Taxes & Public Spending | Permalink

TrackBack

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d83451e55369e200d8357c544969e2

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference HONOLULU WATCH, DAY 2:

Comments

You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.

The comments to this entry are closed.

L.A.W. Highlights

Yeah, and Summer is Hotter Than Winter
The Grand Rapids Press ignores science to promote feel-good politics on the environment and becomes the watchdog that doesn't bark.
When Will It Stop?
Enough of the repulsive tactic of accusing everyone of bigotry who doesn't kowtow to the racemongers.
Thirty-Six Bucks
Balancing the City budget: Maybe it's time for those making a living on the taxpayer's dime to give up a little instead of sticking it to the taxpayer one more time.
The Problem With Teachers
Why teachers are the professionals least suited to run a school district -- or even a school.
The Pig in the Python
The dirty little secret behind the success and failure of every school reform that the education establishment, the public school bureaucrats, and the teachers unions will never reveal.
The Fool's Gold of a College Education
Most kids who get a college degree today have nothing but an expensive credential that lands them a job that any high school graduate could have gotten a generation ago -- WITHOUT the heavy burden of paying back a student loan.
The Fixer
A four-part series about the local attorney behind the demise of Autodie, Butterworth Hospital, Amway, and Old Kent. Warning: Strong accusations of corruption, greed, and skullduggery. Not for the feint of heart.
Poison
The nasty nature of the 26,000 tons of poison that The Boardwalk's developers dug up and then dumped upon the rest of us.
No Honor Among Thieves: The Demise of Quixtar
The re-branding of Amway as Quixtar put lipstick on the pig, but none of the crappy way of doing business changed. Now comes public scrutiny around the world to control its kingpins and clean up the dirty "tools" business.
Lost Cause
A story of how River City lost its way to a secure economic future.
Living Wage Kills Jobs
City pols support a Marxist policy that, like all Marxist policies, hurt the very people they say it will help.
El Dorado, Big Rock Candy Mountain, and the Grand Rapids Public School District
Those of us not in straitjackets are fairly certain that lands of fabulous wealth free for the taking do not exist. No El Dorado, no Big Rock Candy Mountain, no Shangri-la, and no GRPS with money growing on trees.
Defenders Who Do Not Defend
Excessive plea-bargaining, lack of preparation, shoddy to non-existent representation, conflicts of interests are rife among lawyers taking public defender cases on the taxpayer dime.

The Local Area Watch