"TurtleGate"- Granholm puts Hoekstra in check

Continuing his media assault over the turtle fence in Muskegon, Pete sent a letter to Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm. To which Gov. Granholm responded. Here's the blow by blow point for point.

Pete said:

I am writing to request that you convene a working group to study how the State can better allocate funds from its budget. I am willing to volunteer my time and effort to help determine how to more effectively spend federal dollars coming into the state(snip)

The Honorable Governor Jennifer Granholm with a shap jab!

I speak for many in the state capitol rejecting your offer to convene a state budget working group, and instead urge you to focus on the vast amount of unfinished federal business, including your rejection of ommon-sense, bipartisan children's health care legislation.

WHAM
Pete said:

The fence will run along a stretch of highway that lies in the congressional district I represent, and despite my being aware of the remedy the fence seeks to provide, I am alarmed at the lack of prioritization demonstrated by this allocation of funding.

The Gov with a nice uppercut

On the US 31 project the Michigan Department of Transportation responded in writing to your concerns June 1, 2005, by pointing out that federal transaportation law requires states to expend a portion of their federal highway funds on non-construction purposes and expressly allows environmental mitigation to reduce wildlife mortality. At the time, you were in the congressional majority and a key participant debating final decisions on this federal transportation law. You could have used your position to change the law to disallow wildlife protection. Did you attempt to change the law, and if so, why were you not successful?

Oooooh that's gotta hurt!
Pete said:

As you know, approximately one-third of Michigan’s budget comes from federal funding. Yet, at no time have I nor any of my federal counterparts – to my knowledge – been approached about providing greater flexibility with the allocation of federal dollars.

Granholm with a right...and a left and another right!

In fact, I believe you were present at the May 2003 hearing of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee when I came to Washington and testified on the federal transportation bill and specifically asked for more state flexibility under federal highway laws.

Pete is weaving and bobbing...he doesn't look like he's gonna make it

Your elected leaders in Lansing have not had the luxury you have had of repeatedly rubberstamping unbalanced federal budgets. In fact the federal budgets of the past several years have grown at an average annual rate of more than seven percent since 2002, while Michigan's general fund spending was lower in 2007 than it was in 2002. With all due respect, I do not believe your state budget advice would advance our state's budget or economic climates.

Pete is out!!! Granholm is the winner!!!

We dub thee...."TurtleGate"

The newest diversionary tactic being used by the Hoekstra camp is making waves in West Michigan. A 4 foot fence is being erected along US-31 in Muskegon for the purpose of diverting turtles from the highway.

two state-protected turtle species -- the wood and Blanding's turtle -- are among those being victimized on the highway, along with one of special concern, the Eastern box. Snappers, painted and map turtles also are common victims.

During the spring migration, hundreds of turtles die while trying to cross the highway in search of nesting sites in the Muskegon River marsh. State officials said they believe this section of U.S. 31 is Michigan's deadliest stretch of road for turtles and statistics put it on par with some of the nation's worst turtle kill zones."Highway turtle mortalities in these lowland areas tend to be mostly female turtles migrating to nesting grounds leaving behind a mostly male population of turtles, which is very detrimental to maintaining a sustainable turtle population," said Gary Noble, MRWA chairman. "Turtle mortality surveys were conducted during 2005 and 2006 confirmed that this stretch of U.S. 31 accounts for some of the highest adult turtle mortalities recorded nationwide."

Ohhh Pete Hoekstra thought he just found his cover for his Not One, Not Two, But THREE NO VOTES ON SCHIP.

U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Holland, calls the $318,000 fences a poor use of money that could be better used on road construction in Muskegon County.

But in fact the money can't be used for road construction. The money is from federal enhancement funds dedicated for environmental and aesthetic improvements specifically.
Bill Shreck, MDOT's state director of communications says:

"We are required by federal law to spend these funds on enhancement projects and this is a project that improves safety while finding a solution to a problem that goes beyond transportation, MDOT partnered with the DNR and the Muskegon River Watershed Assembly to find the most cost-effective solution."

Mike O'Malley, MDOT Transportation Planning manager:

"This fence is a low-cost solution when you consider the potential safety, environmental and economic impacts that could arise if the situation were allowed to continue, MDOT is required by federal and state law to protect threatened and endangered species."

See also: Hoekstra flips the bird to the environment for the sake of posturing by LiberalLucy front page at MichiganLiberal.com
More to come soon...

Students protest Hoekstra in Grand Rapids

Courtesy of Media Mouse

On Monday, ACTIVATE/SDS held a Critical Mass bike ride in solidarity with the "No War, No Warming" protests taking place in Washington DC (http://www.nowarnowarming.org). Here in Grand Rapids, the Critical Mass bike ride visited a fundraiser being held in East Grand Rapids for Representative Pete Hoekstra as well as the Harvey Hummer dealership on 28th Street. Similar solidarity protests were held around the country, including in Detroit. The Critical Mass ride began shortly after 5:30pm, following the distribution of stenciled patches reading "No War, No Warming" and a brief announcement explaining that the bike ride would be going to a fundraiser being held for consistently pro-war Congressman Pete Hoekstra. The 25-35 cyclists then assembled on Sheldon before beginning the ride to the Hoekstra fundraiser. The ride to the East Grand Rapids home of Dave and Linda Mehney was fairly uneventful with the Mass received generally favorable reactions from motorists and pedestrians. When the group entered the East Grand Rapids neighborhood of the Mehneys, energy rose considerably, with the group chanting "No War, No Warming" and telling people in SUVs to ride a bike instead. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, the Mehneys have given over $90,000 to Republican candidates for federal office. This fundraiser featured a $1,000 per couple "private reception" with Hoekstra and a general $250 per person reception. Once the group arrived at the Mehneys' home, they were greeted by signs for Pete Hoekstra's campaign featuring a bike and the slogan "Securing America's Future." Some of the cyclists rode through the circle driveway, booing and chanting "No War, No Warming" and "Stop Funding the War," while others in the group placed leaflets on the cars of attendees criticizing Hoesktra's continued funding of the occupation of Iraq ($462 billion) and his opposition to the recent State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) legislation ($35 billion). Hoekstra's staffers--who were chatting somewhat frantically on their cell phones--quickly came out and told the group to get off the private property.

BRAVO!!! This is the third protest aimed at Hoekstra in as many weeks that I have seen or heard of(the others linked in the last diary). We as citizens must speak out against our supposed "representative" and demand change.

Hoekstra votes against SCHIP....AGAIN!

Here's the headline to put out. Why does Pete Hoekstra hate American children? In a recent poll 81% favor expanding SCHIP. 74% say they would be willing to pay more taxes to expand SCHIP. Is everyone getting this?? Not Pete Hoekstra. Pete votes for what Pete believes in. Not you. Not children. Not the people of the United States of America. Who does Hoekstra represent? The insurance industry has given the Lying Dutchman $46,930 in his time in office. Can't afford to take your child to the doctor? Hoekstra says tough luck. Maybe we can do what the Huckster says and "unleash the free market". Michigan's 2nd Congressional District deserves better and should expect better.

The people of MI-2 tried to make their voice heard here and here.

Hoekstra's FISA amendment voted down

Ugghhh...OK so I was talking to somebody yesterday and said isn't it terrible that we judge these bills based on if they are not as bad as the previous. But fact is this bill isn't as bad as the temporary bill. It still has problems, like too much leverage for bushco. But a little ray of sunshine peeked through this week

The Committee rejected an amendment by Ranking Member Congressman Pete Hoekstra of Michigan to permanently extend the “Protect America Act,” the Administration’s surveillance bill that passed in August, and to grant retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies involved in the President’s warrantless surveillance programs.

Chairman Reyes explained that the rejection of this amendment is due to the failure of the White House to first provide documents that would reveal the nature and extent of the President’s warrantless surveillance programs. “Before you can forgive someone,” Chairman Reyes stated, “you need to know what you are forgiving.”

That and Pete Hoekstra says republicans were only given 24 hours on a Monday (Oh the Horror! Sounds like the Patriot Act!) to review the bill before the vote. Thank goodness for small miracles I say.

Hoekstra's worn out FISA talking point

Here we go again Pete says...

the flawed bill has no liability protections for patriotic companies that may have heeded the government’s request to help protect the nation at its time of greatest need.

Bush says:

that he will not sign the bill if it does not give retroactive immunity to U.S. telecommunications companies that helped conduct electronic surveillance without court orders.

Pete says:

“By not including retroactive liability protection,” said Representative Peter Hoekstra of Michigan, ranking Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, “Democrats are trying to resolve their differences with the administration on the backs of patriotic American companies that only wanted, and continue to want, to help keep our nation safe.”

From August of this year in an interview with Paul Gigot for Wall Street Journal's: Journal Editorial Report:

"These are companies who were doing the patriotic thing....They were helping the U.S. government, the American people, get the information that we believe we needed to keep us safe. They voluntarily participated, and now that the program is exposed, they've been open to all kinds of lawsuits."

They broke the law. Even though the clowns in power asked them to do it. That doesn't make it OK.

I did find this wonderful little snippet from his press release though:

"It could open a door for massive civil liberties violations by Congress.."

Pardon my language but since when has Pete Hoekstra even given a sh*t about our civil liberties??? Trick question...He doesn't. It's a classic political trick of attacking your opponent's strong suit. I'm not buying it, and I sure as hell hope you aren't either.

Links to other stories on the same thing:
Michael Roston at Huffington Post
Declan McCullagh at CNET News

Erik Prince and Blackwater and Hoekstra Oh My!

Congressman Pete Hoekstra is unusually silent on the issue that has been investigated the past few weeks. Namely Blackwater and it's run and gun security operations in Iraq and the lack of oversight or even rule of law. A memorandum to the Committee on Government Oversight and Reform on October 1st lists the following incidents as grounds for an investigation

* Blackwater has been involved in 195 "escalation of force" incidents since 2005, an average of 1.4 shooting incidents per week. From January 2005 to April 2007, Blackwater employees used their weapons 168 times, compared to 102 times for rival DynCorp and 36 for rival Triple Canopy during that same time frame.

According to the majority staff, Blackwater operatives fired the first shot in 80 percent of those cases, though its contract with the State Department only permits the use of "defensive" force.

* A single Blackwater security contractor costs the government $1,222 every day to guard U.S. civilian personnel, or $445,000 per year. That's six times the cost of getting a U.S. Army soldier to perform the same function. As P.W. Singer observed last week, private security companies increasingly exist to free up tasks for U.S. troops, ensuring a sort of dependence on contracting occurs for a military coping with the strain of deployments for two wars.

* The State Department's attitude to Blackwater shootings is most often a directive to compensate the victim's family, "rather than to insist upon accountability or to investigate Blackwater personnel for potential criminal liability."

* Blackwater's initial contract to protect U.S. diplomats in Iraq, in 2003, was a no-bid contract. So was its 2004 successor. On that one, Blackwater stood to earn a maximum of $338 million, but actually received $488 million from State between June 2004 and June 2006. In total, Blackwater has earned upwards of $1 billion in government contracts since 2001.

Given these are only the documented misdeeds of Blackwater USA and more are sure to follow.

Today the House passed HR 2740, MEJA expansion and Enforcement Act, a bill that would make contractors in combat zones subject to prosecution in US courts. The bill passed overwhelmingly, damn near could have had a voice vote 389-30. Hoekstra voted NO. One of only 30 members of Congress to vote against the bill. Oh but there's more. Seems his buddy Erik Prince (of darkness) is also from Holland, MI. It also seems that he paid for his government cover up by putting the dough in the right coffers:

NATIONAL REPUBLICAN CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE (R) $20,000
primary 07/27/07
NATIONAL REPUBLICAN CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE (R) $25,000
primary 08/05/05
HOEKSTRA, PETER (R)
House (MI 02)
PETER HOEKSTRA FOR CONGRESS $1,000
primary 03/31/05
HOEKSTRA, PETER (R)
House (MI 02)
PETER HOEKSTRA FOR CONGRESS $1,000
general 08/24/04
REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE (R) $25,000
primary 07/14/04
HOEKSTRA, PETER (R)
House (MI 02)
PETER HOEKSTRA FOR CONGRESS $500
primary 09/21/99

What's wrong Pete? Contractor got your tongue?