Trump says, "fire the SOB".

[Willy]

This is going to be an important cause for the people of America. This is going to define and sharpen the divide that exists between Conservatives and leftist Marxists in this Country. The fact that it started at a sports event is somewhat surprising though. Disrespecting by not standing for the National Anthem spread throughtout the NFL over the weekend. An action first taken by  Kaepernick the NFL quarterback last year. Trump felt it necessary to comment on the protest last weekend when over 200 players refused to stand for the pledge. I totally agree with Trump

[Mad Max]

Still waiting for a local version of Donald trump to come and clean the corrupted filth out of Ludington and get it back to the town I remember growing up in. Maybe the drug problem will go away when they start doing their job and stop exhausting the police resources on medical marijuana users (who do all paperwork leagaly already) and use it to get the real drugs/guns off the streets of mason county. This is becoming a lawless dangerous county whith everyone’s hands in each others pockets. We need a major overhaul here the same way our government does. This is a great country. We need to get back to the roots.

[XLFD]

If you think a Donald Trump type could get into a political office and clean up Ludington, you're living in a fantasy world.  Noting a city clerk and treasurer have few powers over the political direction of a city, you would either have to be elected mayor or councilor to have a chance.  

As mayor, you have relatively few powers to enact any change in operative personnel, your powers amount to appointments and even that is regulated by council approval/disapproval.  Even if you could convince 90% of the people that the city manager or CDD must be fired because of gross corruption and/or incompetence, there's nothing you can really do if four or more councilors don't agree.  

So if Lud Trump won a position on the council, despite being dragged down in the swamp with lies and innuendo during their campaign by all of the local corporate media, city manager, and other city elites with skin in the game of corruption, he would still face the daunting task of getting three other councilors to see things his/her way and vote against the God and Utopia they have been indoctrinated to believe that their city manager and his cronies has brought to Ludington.  

A Donald Trump in Ludington would have to be fortified with other councilors being elected concurrently who could actually welcome change in Ludington's direction, rather than trumpet why they believe they are the right person to keep the city going in the same direction.  It requires more than a Trump to eradicate the corruption from Ludington, it requires a full-fledged movement. 

Besides myself, there was nobody in the four 2016 city councilor races embracing a change in city direction/policy.  That was sad, because I had hoped some landlords/tenants energized by the RIO would come forth and run a spirited campaign.  There's nothing worse than leading a charge only to find out that you're the only one charging.

[AQUAMAN]

Well said X, we have a huge swamp to drain here too, a very challenging task at best. The root of this current problem is the city mgr. and attorney, per your continued exposure of them both for their actions since hired, not elected. As for the Snake Viper, you now want to retreat from your earlier threats? I am starting to get the familiar FB reaction by those whom are unintelligent millenium aged kids, arrogant of facts and history, but mouthing off like adults, when you are just a spoiled child. Try to get some education in our society before you act like God, it may enlighten you to new improved attitudes and opportunity in your future.

[Willy]

Very good explanation about the difficulty in changing the political scene in Ludington and it's a very good reason to have a strong Mayor. If the Mayor was responsible for appointing the City Manager and had the powers that a strong Mayor Government has, I think that change could come much faster in Ludington. One person, the Mayor, could have a huge impact, be it positive or negative but the Mayor could also be voted out and a major change could be accomplished by way of the ballot. 

[XLFD]

Be advised that in a 'strong' mayor system the mayor may appoint a 'city manager' (often called a chief administrative officer or the like) to help them with city operations, and they are under direction of the mayor.  This makes them directly accountable to the mayor who is directly accountable to the citizens. 

The early progressive movements preferred the city manager/council system because it gets city operations out of the political arena and away from corruption.  I think that's a flawed viewpoint; I see that it takes city operations out of citizen oversight and into a corruption that's harder to detect, combat, and reform.

[Willy]

Another change that should be implemented is that all Councilors must be elected by the citizens and not appointed by the Council. The fact that the Council has been replacing itself with like minded politicians is another reason for the continuing malfeasance.

[AQUAMAN]

Exactly guys, and when the city mgr. hand picks appointees to committees and other positions for the council to vote on, then they are in the wings waiting to be appointed or run for office in the future for the council. So, the malfeasance mindset will never end.

[XLFD]

Even though nobody has contacted me formally to throw the snake out yet, when I noticed Pitt Viper's post in extremely poor taste before I went to bed last night, I couldn't help but think:  "If that's there in the morning, he's gone."

Mr. 'I'm not advocating violence or anything of the sort' goes into a Trump Derangement Syndrome debacle where he imagines his ultimate fantasy:  that Trump conspired with Russia and is found guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors.  Pitt makes the case that the type of people that are unhinged enough to believe these allegations, without any kind of provocative evidence yet produced, will result in mass executions of all of the Trump family and his associates in the most barbaric manner.  It's unbelievable. 

Donald Trump has his shortcomings as a human being and a politician, but he doesn't deserve this; his efforts to shake things up in Washington and get things on track after a disastrous 8 years of progressive dysfunction under Barack Obama is exactly why many in America voted for the Donald, including a supermajority of those in Mason County and a shocking victory in Michigan.  Pitt seems to get aroused over the possibility that Trump and anybody associated with him should either be hanged or drawn and quartered on a very specious argument.  Can you imagine any of President Obama's worst enemies even saying what Pitt Viper just printed about Trump and not being almost unanimously castigated by everybody else?

[stump]

Pit Viper, WOW, what are you smoken ?

[Willy]

It's starting to happen. At last night's [10-6] Lansing Catholic High School football game, 4 students took a knee during the national anthem.

This is a school where the parents, supporters and alumni scrimped, saved and had money raising events to build a new stadium last year, all without tax dollars and these students show this kind of disrespect.

[shinblind]

http://www.theblaze.com/news/2017/09/19/watch-8-year-old-football-p...

http://abcnews.go.com/US/year-admonished-taking-knee-pledge-allegia...

A team of 8 year olds and a 6 year old?

Clueless.

The indoctrination of hate starts early and continues.

[Willy]

Vice President leaves NFL game when players did not stand for National Anthem yesterday, 10-8-17. However there still seems to be a large number of people who are attending these games. I guess they don't understand the situation or obviously don't care. Hooray for Pence, he's shown that he will stand by his principles.