Week in Review: Strange Gods

and a voting breakdown

Week in Review

Public Occultism

Commissioner Brad Benzing opened the County Commissioners meeting with a Wiccan petition, invoking pagan deities:

We call this morning to [g]od, [g]oddess, [u]niverse, that which is greater than ourselves to be here with us today. By the Earth that is in our bones and centers us, may all here remember our roots and those whom we are here to represent. Blessed be, aho and amen.

The rest of the commissioners stood by in prayerful reverence as Benzing summoned the aid of the “horned god” and the “triple goddess”.¹ Will the commissioners continue to allow such demonstrations?

County Commissioners, February 27

Our Fearless Leader

Our resident researcher and snooper-around, Joseph Hendee, ascended to the public podium once again on Tuesday. His primary point of contention with the Board was the 24 radios the County is purchasing for the schools. He argued that the taxpayers already pay a millage for the schools, and that the schools ought to be expected to buy the radios themselves, as they apparently have done in Coldwater.

ISD Report

Troy Reehl gave a presentation from the Intermediate School District (ISD). The highlight was his Special Education report.

• At the Career Center, the welding lab is complete. The Center expects over 320 students next year.

• He gave a report on Special Education in the county. Apparently, 18.6%(!) of our current county student population qualifies for Special Education services. Nearly one out of every 5 students has special needs.

• The State average is currently 11.5%.

• The County’s percentage of special education students has increased dramatically in the last 5 years. In 2018-2019, 11.47% of students in Hillsdale qualified as special ed. What happened? The joys of quarantine. Online “learning.” “Safe and effective” medical treatments. Countless hours on screens rather than playing outside or with friends. After all that, we have more young people with issues. Who could have guessed that?

Drain Commission

Matt Word gave a very boring update about very important drain improvement projects around the County. A model for local government.

Fighting the State

Steve Lanius discussed the Citizens for Choice Ballot Initiative with the help of a local expert.

• 550,000 signatures are needed to have this ballot measure in November.

• This initiative is to counteract the State’s recent overreach with respect to dictating to counties and localities where to put wind turbines and solar farms. Will we have local control, or not? Do you want you and your neighbors deciding how to zone your town, or Gretchen the Terrible?

• This is a bipartisan effort seeking to return control to the localities. Steve Lanius will be bringing forward a resolution in the future supporting this initiative.

• Read the correspondence to the Board from the organization collecting signatures here.

• Steve Lanius: “We do need to support this; It is a bipartisan issue. If the state takes this over, what are they going to take next? It will show that they do have the ability to take over. And I’m afraid that that’s what coming.”

Local Updates

• There are seizures, ticks, tremors, and other health issues at Quincy Schools. There a now a few cases in the Jonesville schools. Experts have been brought in to test the water and the air. This seems . . . not normal.

• Hillsdale City flashing lights are being installed at the Hallet St. Bridge. Perhaps this will prevent people from driving into the bridge in the future. Personally, we are suspicious. A bridge rebuild is planned for 2026.

• New disc golf course by Lake View cemetery in Hillsdale is planned. This way we can honor the dead by throwing pieces of plastic.

• Waterworks park playground equipment removed. New equipment coming later this year. We hope it is “safe and effective.”

• Hillsdale Road Commission want to add signage warning about the Amish.

Love for Lifeways

Mark Wiley had written a letter in the last 24 hours to support Lifeways’ appropriations request from Debbie Stabenow for money for a new facility. Apparently, the other commissioners heard about this Monday Night/Tuesday morning.

• He requested a vote allowing him to sign the letter and send it to Stabenow.

• Benzing spoke strongly in support of the mission of Lifeways. He was critical of the late notice for the letter.

• Leininger suggested that because of the lack of knowledge about a potential building and the late notice of the letter, he would vote “no.”

• Wiley argued with Leininger, suggesting that there was free money via this application (he then corrected himself). Leininger retorted: “No Funding from Any Government is Free.”

• Steve Lanius asked the reasonable question: what happens if the Board does not support Wiley in sending the support letter? Wiley said that Lifeways would write to Stabenow’s office anyway.

Closing Thoughts

Last meeting Mark Wiley was gone for health reasons. Robert Eichler welcomed his return with the following comment: “We’re not finished bitching at you, so I’m glad you’re back.”

Hillsdale County Election Results

• 27% voter turnout (8,321/31,075 eligible voters)

• 1,538 total Democrat ballots cast (19% of total ballots)

• 6,705 Republican ballots cast (81%)

Republican Primary

• Donald Trump: 5,118 (76% of Republican ballots)

• Nikki Haley: 1,234 (18%)

• Other (6%)

Democrat Primary

• Joe Biden: 1,241 (80% of Democrat ballots)

• Other (20%, mostly left blank)

Various School Millages

• Reading Community Schools Operating Millage Proposal: failed

  • No: 464 (52%)

  • Yes: 429 (48%)

• Camden-Frontier Redskins Operating Millage Proposal: passed

  • No: 234 (37%)

  • Yes: 394 (63%)

Additional Notes

• Ward IV proved to be the most left-leaning in the city, with 27% of its primary election voters casting Democrat ballots. All other wards were below 20%.

Upcoming Events

City Council, Monday, March 4

Packet.

Set Public Hearing – Amend Ordinance Requiring Use & Occupancy Permit for Owner’s Principal Residence

Currently in Hillsdale you must pay a fee to the city to occupy the home that you allegedly own (unless you’re a homeless squatter). This amendment would alleviate homeowners who intend to live in their home from the burden of needing to purchase the occupancy permit. Landlords, on the other hand. . .

Use & Occupancy Permit Application and Inspection Fee Increase

Initial inspections and U&O permits for those who wish to rent out houses would be raised from $50 to $100; repeat inspections from $25 to $50.

Set Public Hearing – Amend Ordinance Municipal Civil Infraction and Fines

As we well know, Hillsdale is full of raw mongrels which often escape their owners’ custody. As such, the Council will, we hope, raise the fees for the civil infractions, including that of “Dog at Large.”

• First offense: $25—>$50

• First repeat offense: $50—>$125

• Second repeat offense: $100—>$250

• Third or any subsequent repeat offense: $400

Spring Leaf Collection

The Council will consider forgoing the Spring leaf pickup. This would save the city $15,000.

External Links

• “We have received several calls from customers asking about boil water notices in regard to the ongoing water valve replacement work in the E. South Street/St. Joe Street area. Due to the nature of this work, some residences located nearby the project area may be placed under a boil water notice as a precautionary measure.” BPU.

• “Construction on the north quad will begin March 9, as the college breaks ground on the Diana Davis Spencer Graduate School of Education, according to Chief Administrative Officer Rich Péwé.” The Hillsdale Collegian.

• “Yet Graduate School of Government Assistant Professor David Azerrad’s recent talk left me disappointed and even concerned.” Elizabeth Schlueter.

• “Because of these failures I hired a business manager. That manager is now fully onboard, and he has made life much easier. Hillsdale Renaissance’s business manager is a former contractor with a keen eye for aesthetics and a desire to do things the right way.” Luke Robson.

• “Hillsdale Hornet wrestlers, and brothers, John and Stephen Petersen both punched a ticket to day two of the state finals. Stephen Petersen, a senior for Hillsdale wrestling, will wrestle for a state championship in the Division 3, 190-pound weight class.” Hillsdale Daily News.

• “And, now is the time for education entrepreneurs to grow the supply of classical education in all its delivery model forms to meet the growing demand. Classical education isn’t going away, and this might just be the beginning of the boom.” RealClearEducation.

• “We’re adopting the kind of education perfected in Stalin’s Russia, or perhaps even to earlier pedagogical approaches. . . . Whole centuries seem to be vanishing from our classrooms. . . . When will parents, and the politicians they elect, begin to stand up? Action is only possible if they are willing to confront well-financed, militant and politically powerful teachers’ unions and their political satraps.” Joel Kotkin.

• “Those who freeze their eggs and those who buy the frozen eggs and sperm of others, are evidence of our modern approach to children as accessories. . . . Like any accessory, the decision to have children today boils down to mere personal preference. ‘Do you want children?’ is wholly separate from the question of marriage, and the answer can now be affirmative even if you are a 45-year-old single woman or, much more concerningly, a transgender pedophile.” Carmel Richardson.

• “Alabama’s GOP-controlled legislature voted Thursday to give doctors who provide in-vitro fertilization civil and criminal immunity for any death or damage to embryos.” Politico.

• “Shrier’s general thesis is that Gen Z’s distress is iatrogenic in origin. That is, it is caused in large part by the treatment—in this case, bad therapy—meant to cure it.” Kay S. Hymowitz.

• “Today the ugliest danger is gender ideology, which cancels out differences.” Pope Francis.

• “In a ruling Thursday, U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton concluded Arizona legislators did not discriminate when they adopted the laws and the state does have an interest in preventing voter fraud and limiting voting to those individuals eligible to vote.” Associated Press.²

• “A federal appeals court panel ruled Friday that Jan. 6 defendants who obstructed Congress’ work had their sentences improperly lengthened by judges who determined that they had interfered with the ‘administration of justice.’” Politico.

• “Cannabis use is associated with adverse cardiovascular outcomes, with heavier use (more days per month) associated with higher odds of adverse outcomes.” Journal of the American Heart Association (NYT).

• “Between 1990 and 2015, some 90 percent of plastics either ended up in a landfill, were burned, or leaked into the environment. Another recent study estimates that just 5 to 6 percent are successfully recycled.” The New Republic.

• “On Friday 8th March, Ireland will go to the polls in its latest referendum on constitutional change. This time around, the aim of the state is to alter the wording of article 41, which is designed to promote and protect the institution of the family.” Paul Kingsnorth.

• “Our view of both sheep and shepherds is utterly warped, and the fallout shows in every sphere—in churches, in the workplace, in politics.” Nadya Williams.

Farewell

1. Commissioner Wiley wants you to know just how open-minded he is, and so we presume that he approves of such invocations

2. Mark Elias’ Democracy Docket, however, is claiming victory: “The court determined that requiring individuals who register to vote using the state form to include the voter’s state or country of birth violates the Materiality Provision of the Civil Rights Act. The court also struck down the provision of H.B. 2243 that allows county recorders to cancel a voter’s registration if they have ‘reason to believe’ they are not a U.S. Citizen.”