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A
SSOCIATED
N
EWSPAPERS OF
M
ICHIGAN
P
AGE
6
August 16, 2012
As the Olympic games ended
with the Official Closing Ceremony
this week, we couldn't help but
beam with pride at the image of
Allison Schmitt of Canton Township
who brought bronze, silver and gold
medals back fromLondon.
This week, her home town hon-
ored the 2008 graduate of Canton
High School with a rally and a offi-
cial presentation fromthe township.
She deserves every bit of cele-
bration, congratulations and recog-
nition that comes her way just as
every one of these athletes and their
families do. She is among the very
best in the world. We think that is a
mind-boggling claim, when it is
internalized. The very best of the
billions and billions of people who
inhabit the planet is epitomized by
these athletes who compete to
determine who is the very best of
the best.
These athletes, and especially
Schmitt, are the role models we
should all be hoping our young peo-
ple emulate and idolize. These are
the people they should look up to
with adoration and attempt to emu-
late rather than bleached blonde,
lip-synching erotic dancers attempt-
ing to sing or rap artists competing
to see just how obscene and explicit
their language canbe.
These athletes didn't get to
London by wishing it would happen
or by being 'discovered' or for their
looks or their ability to shock the
public with suggestive dancing or
erotic lyrics. These athletes got
where they are by the virtue of
inherent talent coupled with hard
work. Very, very hardwork.
Schmitt didn't just jump into a
pool and decide she liked to swim.
She worked at developing her tal-
ent. She practiced for hours and
hours every day. She endured physi-
cal training that only a real athlete
could ever endure to hone her skill
to the highest level possible. She
worked every single day, no matter
what else she felt like doing orwant-
ed to do, to get herself where she
wanted to be: On the Olympic podi-
um accepting a gold medal for the
UnitedStates of America.
Her training regimen is one
practiced by every one of these ath-
letes in all 32 events at the
Olympics. Nobody gets there by
wishing for it. They get there by
back breaking effort fueled by an
iron determination to become the
best they can be. They get there
based on talent, skill and constant
diligence.
They also get there because of
their families who endure hard-
ships and make unending sacrifices
to help each of these athletes reach
their goals.
These should be our American
idols, this is the real talent that
America has and these are the true
voices of our country. Their success-
es, and even their failures, are
examples of dedication, of patriot-
ism, of determination, of ironwill, of
sacrifice and of the real joy of find-
ing the best in oneself and in
humanity.
Our children should be taught
what a real hero looks like…many
of them, like Allison Schmitt, were
on theOlympic podiuminLondon.
Geez, I love to be right.
I love it. Nothing does my falter-
ing ego as much good as being right
every so often. Now, what I was
right about last week truly filled me
with despair, in some cases, but joy
in some others. Overall, my confi-
dence in the wisdom of voters was
bolstered. Well, everywhere but
PlymouthTownship that is. But, hey,
Plymouth Township is a whole dif-
ferent political world where logic,
common sense and some regard for
the welfare of others is almost
unknown.
I'm going to try and ignore my
feelings of incredulity and disap-
pointment in that community and
try tomaximizemy arrogant predic-
tions about the outcome of the elec-
tion. Yep, even in that congenitally
apathetic community, I predicted
the outcome accurately. I didn't like
it, I wouldn't wish that travesty of
local "government" on any munici-
pality, but I did call it accurately.
I was right about Westland and
Romulus, too. I thought it was great
that the folks in Westland approved
themillage for the library and those
in Romulus supported the funding
to operate the schools. Those really
were no brainers, though, because
even in these times of economic
uncertainty, people in those com-
munities value the library, which
offers so much for so little to every-
one, and who can doubt that every
dime possible is needed by every
school district.
I'd like to give all those yes voters
ahug.
Canton Township voters, too,
knew exactly what they were doing
when they returned all the incum-
bents, and former supervisor Tom
Yack, to the board of trustees. I've
not been shy about my opinion of
the job this group does for the com-
munity. My one concern is that some
of the trustees may not realize what
a treasure of historical and empiri-
cal knowledge Yack has to offer. I
hope they won't resent his former
position as supervisor and treat him
with anything less than the respect
and courtesy he deserves when he
tries to help solve problems or pro-
poses ideas.
Northville Township voters did
surprise me a little. I wasn't as sure
of that outcome as I was of others, at
least in the supervisor's race. I was
also surprised to see Supervisor
Paul White edged out in the race for
Van Buren supervisor. I thought it
might be close, but I didn't think
he'd get bounced from the
November ballot.
Let's face it folks, in many of
these communities, the primary
election is the real determination of
who will be officially elected in
November. In these communities
voters go in,
plunk down that
Democrat or
Re p u b l i c a n
lever and never read anything else,
or even the names, of the local can-
didates they just helped sweep into
office. So when these guys win their
local primaries, they know that the
partisan voterswill sweep theminto
office inNovember.
While I predicted the win of the
incumbents in Plymouth Township
(Yeah, I'm still ranting about those
fools), I really wanted to be wrong. I
knew this Borg hive mind of incum-
bents would be swept back in, but I
had hoped that the reports of their
conduct and dangerous decisions
would have influenced enough vot-
ers to overcome the apathy of some
and the misinformation believed by
others.
No such luck.
The votes have been cast, the pri-
mary is done and the majority has
decided. Now, I guess I can just sit
back and watch the good, the bad
and the worst in local government
in action.
Thaddeus McCotter has a lot to answer for to a lot of peo-
ple.
Our former U.S. Representative to Congress opted to
resign with only a few weeks left in his fifth term of office,
forcing the taxpayers to foot the bill for a $650,000 special
election to fill eight weeks of his term.
When he made his resignation announcement, he
inferred that the life in the public eye had become too “night-
marish” and was just too unbearable for him and his family,
forcing himto leave office andnot seek re-election.
Bovine residue. What was toughwas living with the conse-
quences of his own actions or inactions in failing to manage
and direct his staff. What was tough, we suspect, was living
with the betrayal of people inwhich he left the responsibility
for his political future without ever holding them account-
able for acting professionally and appropriately.
It may have been a toughmonth, but what we strongly sus-
pect McCotter couldn't deal with were his own failings, first
as a candidate for U.S. President, which went nowhere
quickly, and then the investigation into the election fraud
which occurred in his Livonia office. We suspect his resigna-
tion may have come on the heels of his interview with the
investigators from the Michigan Attorney General's office
who were interested enough in what he knew and when he
knew it to ask him for a sworn statement regarding the crimi-
nal antics of his staff. Facing the consequences of his own
failures would be our guess at the cause of his “nightmarish
month.”
For those whomay not know, four of McCotter's staff mem-
bers waited almost until nominating petitions were due at
the elections office to think about turning in the 1,000 signa-
tures needed to get McCotter on the ballot for a sixth term.
According to the investigators, these geniuses then took old
petitions, ran them through a color copier, pasted the signa-
tures sloppily onto 2012 petitions and then ran those through
The real
American
‘idols’
Letters
While I predicted the win of the incumbents
in Plymouth Township (Yeah, I'm still ranting
about those fools), I really wanted to be wrong.
”
What was tough was living with the
consequences of his own actions or inactions
in failing to manage and direct his staff.
”
Being right is often a double-edged sword
McCotter’s failures continue to cost taxpayers
See
McCotter,
page 7
Library programs succeed
To the editor;
Thank you to all who participat-
ed in this years' Summer Reading
Program at the Inkster Library. We
had 42 children sign up for the
"Dream Big Read" program and 19
teens sign up for our first-ever teen
Summer Reading Program,
themed "Own the Night". The teens
read a combined total of approxi-
mately 70 books, magazines,
etc…and the children read a total
of approximately 250 hours this
summer.
Summer Reading is so impor-
tant to the learning development of
children/teens because it keeps
them engaged in reading while
school is not in session. Summer
Reading Programs are significant
in improving reading skills and
these programs prevent loss of
learning during the summer
months. According to schoolli-
braryjournal.com, "…children who
read at least six books during the
summer maintained or improved
their reading skills, while children
who didn't read any saw their skills
slip by as much as an entire grade
level". Studies show that children
who participate in Summer
Reading Programs also have high-
er test scores than thosewho do not
participate.
This summer, the Inkster
Library was a recipient of a grant
fromMichiganCenter for theBook.
See
Letter,
page 7