It's official. Hoekstra is nuts.

Trying very, very hard to tack the Senate version of the FISA legislation to anything that is humanly possible, Hoekstra and his gopper pals tried for HR 1424: Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act of 2007. Here's what Crazy Pete had to say:

This bill is intended to ensure the mental health of Americans; yet, no American’s health can be fully secured if they are under attack by a terrorist or facing the potential threat of terrorist attack.

Keith Olbermann had this to say on Countdown tonight in his "Bushed!" segment:

Congressman Hoekstra, I'll actually have to defer to you on this one. You do seem to be the expert on American's whose mental health is not fully secure."

It's getting damn near cartoonish the things Crazy Pete will say. Egads.

Meanwhile HR 1424 passed the House: 268-148, and as you guessed it Hoekstra voted no.

Hoekstra Votes No on Affordable College Costs(Again!)

Last Wednesday, the House passed The College Opportunity and Affordability Act by a huge bipartisan measure of 354-58. Once again, as he did in September of 2007 Hoekstra voted against making college affordable and accessible. The highlights of this bill include:

Encourage colleges to rein in price increases and provide consumers with helpful information

* Ensures states maintain higher education funding and provides incentives, such as additional need-based aid, to encourage colleges to hold down price increases.
* Creates a user-friendly website to provide students and families with helpful information about college pricing when making important education decisions.
* Holds colleges and universities accountable for their tuition hikes.


Restore integrity and accountability to the student loan programs

* Requires institutions and lenders to adopt strict codes of conduct.
* Provides students with fair and full information about their borrowing options when taking out and repaying student loans, including the terms and conditions of both federal and private student loans; and promotes financial literacy and education for students and parents.
* Protects students from aggressive marketing practices by lenders.


Simplify the federal student aid application process

* Streamlines the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) process, and creates an easy-to-navigate two-page FAFSA-EZ form for low-income families.
* Provides families with extra time to plan for their college expenses.
* Encourages the Department of Education to coordinate with the Internal Revenue Service to use information that the government already has.


Make textbook costs more manageable

* Provides students with advance information on textbook pricing to help them plan for expenses before each semester.
* Ensures that colleges and faculty have full textbook pricing information when making purchasing decisions.


Expand college access and support for low-income and minority students

* Makes college more affordable for low-income and non-traditional students by allowing students to receive Pell Grant scholarship aid year round.
* Expands funding for graduate student programs at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic Serving Institutions, and other minority serving schools.
* Strengthens the TRIO and GEAR UP college readiness and support programs for low-income and first-generation students.


Increase college aid and support for veterans and military families

* Creates a new scholarship program for active duty military personnel and family members, including children and spouses of active duty military service members or veterans.
* Establishes support centers to help veterans succeed in college and graduate.
* Ensures fairness in student aid and housing aid for veterans to make it easier for them to go to college while also fulfilling their military service duties.


Ensure equal college opportunities for students with disabilities

* Establishes a national center to provide support services and best practices for colleges, students with disabilities, and their families.
* Helps colleges recruit, retain, and graduate students with disabilities and improves education materials and facilities.
* Expands eligibility for Pell Grant scholarships and other need-based aid for students with intellectual disabilities.


Boost campus safety and disaster readiness plans

* Helps all colleges develop and implement state-of-the-art emergency systems and campus safety plans, and requires the Department of Education to develop and maintain a disaster plan in preparation for emergencies.
* Creates a National Center for Campus Safety at the Department of Justice to work in collaboration with the COPS Program.
* Establishes a disaster relief loan program to help schools recover and rebuild in the event of a disaster.


Encourage colleges to adopt sustainable and energy-efficient practices

* Creates a grant program to help colleges and universities design and implement sustainable practices.
* Convenes the first-ever higher education summit on sustainability to examine how to implement energy efficient and sustainable practices at institutions of higher education.


Strengthen our workforce and our competitiveness

* Creates programs to bolster students’ interest in science, technology and critical foreign languages through collaborations with businesses and other stakeholders.
* Improves teacher training and development programs and focuses on recruiting teachers into high demand science and technology fields.
* Encourages students to enter vital public service jobs by authorizing up to $10,000 in loan forgiveness for public defenders, prosecutors, firefighters, military service members, first responders, law enforcement officers, educators, nurses, and others serving the public interest.

Of course, as was the case 6 months ago, Hoekstra is mum on the subject. I am at a loss for the reasoning behind these votes.

Pete Hoekstra: Prognosticator of Prognosticators!

The day before the *coughfarce* primary Pete said this about Magic Underpants Man's chances in his district

"We are here," he said, pointing to his thumb, representing the Detroit area, including suburban Southfield. "And I represent this part"—he pointed to the left side of his palm—"which is God's country." Things looked "pretty good" there for Romney, he said.

Hmmmm well it didn't quite work out that way Pete


ALLEGAN: McCain- 1821, Romney- 2090
BENZIE: McCain- 764, Romney-678
KENT: McCain- 1048, Romney- 1092
LAKE: McCain- 365, Romney- 288
MANISTEE: McCain- 870, Romney- 777
MASON: McCain- 1161, Romney- 929
MUSKEGON: McCain- 4369, Romney- 3877
NEWAYGO: McCain- 1824, Romney- 1582
OTTAWA:McCain- 11067, Romney- 13127
WEXFORD: McCain- 1227, Romney- 1031

Yeah...nice job Pete. Nice to see you're not working any harder for him than you are the people in your district.