Photoblogging Lansing Part 1: The Capitol

Now that I'm back in Lansing and armed with a trusty digital camera, it's time to embark on some photoblogging. Over the next week or so, I'll be posting images and discussing varied buildings within Lansing: schools, train stations, and more. Where to start?

The Michigan Capitol.


Click Any Photo to Enlarge in New Window.

Cliche? Possibly. But on the eve of the inauguration, it seemed like a grand place to start. Mom and I traipsed to downtown Lansing and wandered into this historic gem. Restored in 1992, the Capitol showcases beautiful neoclassical design, and inside is adorned with gorgeous woodwork, art, and painting. I'm sure most everyone in Michigan has visited the Capitol at some point in their lives, but its always wonderful to stop and view the intricate detail of every nook and cranny.

From the flooring to the doorknobs, everything within the building is gorgeously ornamented. The image on the left is from the ground-level doors: the bronze and copper alloy plating shows birds, leaves, and an ornamental "push" -- an art long lost with the more economic "stick it on the window" placards.

Even where there are no light fixtures or portraits, even the paint in places such as the stairwells forms an art all its own. This golden, broad-brushstroke pattern leads down into the 2nd floor of the Capitol. So cool. Ornamentation such as this is everywhere: greens, blues, golds, reds, yellows -- it makes the building feel less Lansing and more Romanov palace.

The dome, of course, speaks for itself. It rises well beyond the 4th floor public access, alit with dazzling blues and golds, until it reaches the stars at the very top. Chandeliers light the halls, featuring the elks and stags of the Michigan flag.




Outside of the Governor's office, a large portrait of the late President Gerald Ford hangs, draped in black fabric with a placard about his life.

Outside of the building, we took additional shots of the exterior detail, and of the temporary stage being constructed for the second inauguration of Gov. Granholm. There were plenty more photos, but this was more of a personal experience than one intended for blogging. I just wanted to share a few of our observations.








I'll go over some train stations in my next post; it'll involve more policy than just random photos. But get on down to the capitol and re-explore it if you haven't recently. There's always something new to see. It is truly an historic part of our city and state.

And who would I be if I didn't close with a bit of fun?

Blast From the Past!

As we're approaching the 2nd inauguration of Jennifer Granholm as our Michigan Governor, here's a little blast from the past!



This is from my senior year of high school in the Eastern High School parking lot. My BFF and I painted our rear windows for JG in 2002. Of course, my car was viciously attacked with a barrage of Posthumus bumper stickers one day -- but no one could stop the Granholm train that was being pimped out via my 1985 Oldsmobile Delta '88! People would honk and wave as election day approached; it was a big hoot. ;)


Just a little bit of fun! Happy Holidays; Merry Christmas!

Happy Holidays to All, with a Little Granholm Magic.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS, everyone! I'll be venturing the long Amtrak-ish trek back for the holidays myself, so I wanted to share a little moment of happiness.



Isn't that the most adorable photo ever? It's Governor JENNIFER GRANHOLM with first husband DAN MULHERN on the eve of the 2006 election. It's just an electrifying photo, and makes me smile every time!
The photo (hence the PROOF) is from The Granholm Express Bus Tour, and you can visit the gallery and order original prints from the photographer.*

*Sorry to borrow! It was just such a great photo, I had to use it. I don't want to step on copyrights, so I've linked the original site and photographer. Check it out, and look for yourself if you happened to be at some of the events!

The campaign was such a difficult one: we were up against Dick DeVos of the Amway Corporation and his infinite resources. We had to endure "fire the Governor!" and the negative, noir-style ads that screamed: "Michigan: You're Losers!" But our hope in a 21st-century Michigan endured.

Here was a little ditty JG wrote as a 2006 retrospective:

"We continued our efforts to both put people first, to put them to work, and to invest in them. Michigan citizens understand that we are a state in transition and this year they clearly said they want leadership that invests in people, leadership that creates opportunity. My comprehensive economic plan, which continued to drive the state's agenda this year, provides that investment and that opportunity." - Governor Jennifer M. Granholm, December 21, 2006

That's right! And be sure to check out the Gov's inaugural events for January. Show her some love! Don't let the political fires die just because Nov 7 has come and gone.

All the best to you and yours! Safe travels!

Kathie Dunbar: Keepin' it Real with the Human Rights Ordinance

Say hello to Santa Katrina!

Showing she's no lame duck, Lansing Councilwoman Kathie Dunbar has firmly planted herself as a rising star in city politics with her couragous Human Rights Ordinance.

The Lansing, MI ordinance protects residents along 8 new classifications, including sexual orienation, gender identity expression, student status, and political affiliation.

The ordinance has been attacked and beset by Michigan "family" groups -- the AFA of Michigan even links to this little blogger's write-up on Ms. Dunbar via Liberal, Loud, and Proud. Even with their -- and others' -- opposition, the ordinance unanimously passed within the Lansing City Council, and has the full support of Mayor Virg Bernero.

What makes Kathie Dunbar so fabulous isn't just that she pushed this ordinance and got it passed, but that she has been at the forefront of local media on the issue, defending her ideas behind a Human Rights Ordinance, and what it truly means for Lansing, Michigan. I mean, really. Some groups are so zealous that they'll google anything with the word "gay" in it and vehemently oppose it. So Ms. Dunbar gets out in the front and keeps pressing on what the ordinance is and debunking myths that make outlandish claims on what it isn't.

The latest Lansing City Pulse sat down with Kathie Dunbar, and she shared some insights:

Doesn’t this ordinance create special rights for people based on their sexual orientation?

The “special rights” argument always mystifies me. How one can argue that equality grants one person special rights over another? This is a classic case of the pot calling the kettle black. Most individuals who argue that we are granting “special rights” to gays also hide behind the cloak of their religion to justify continued discrimination. Lest we forget, it is the religious community who enjoys special rights in our society.

How many other organizations have carte blanche tax exemptions? Who else can claim their convictions as reasons to be exempted from laws applicable to everyone else? Who else can exempt themselves from institutional dress codes by claiming their beliefs require a certain form of clothing, jewelry, headdress or hairstyle? I’m not in any way arguing against allowing such exemptions, but I think it’s important to identify the “pot” from which these “special rights” flow.

[...]

This ordinance makes it a crime to refuse to hire men who demand the right to wear a dress to work.

[...] [In regards to the ordinance] It is not, however, permissible to refuse to hire transgender persons solely because they do not conform to gender stereotypes. Transsexuals are not men who occasionally wear dresses or women who go butch on Tuesdays. Transsexuals tend to live their lives as members of the opposite sex from which they were born. They don’t switch from day to day.

And this is why Kathie Dunbar has officially reached Diva status. We love you, Kathie!

Keep it up, and everyone else: check out the full article courtesy of the Lansing City Pulse. It is sure to make you smile. Councilwoman Dunbar truly does us all a service in Lansing!

"Why I Love the Sound of My Own Voice," by Tim Skubick.

Oh, Tim Skubick -- joy of my heart. For those of you who have yet the fine pleasure of a Tim Skubick experience, let me explain:

Skubick is Michigan's "Senior Capitol Correspondent," a lofty self-made title for his own style of punditry. With a weekly TV show on WKAR and a weekly column in the Lansing State Journal, Timmeh is one of the very few syndicated analysts who cover Michigan politics.

Sadly, his work is just a little below the bar of excellence. I think it hovers somewhere above the line of "Chernobyl toxin."

At any rate, this week Tim decided to write a little love letter to himself with a nice pat-on-the back over a very sensitive issue. Would it be the recent welfare reform legislation? How about that single-business tax replacement? Or maybe even a soft piece on passenger rail? After all, he is our "SENIOR CAPITOL CORRESPONDENT!"

No. Skubick writes about the tragic Ricky Holland murder. But he doesn't discuss the case; instead he writes a little CYA number to defend baiting Gov. Granholm in the first gubernatorial debate.

Skubick is -- well, was -- not shy of doing everything he could to kerplutz the Granholm train throughout her term. Not even exploiting the death of Ricky Holland -- a 7-year old Lansing boy -- was off limits if it could tank her reelection. Not shy of using the Holland case in neither his writing nor his words, Tim Skubick tried to pull off a little coup-de-grace against that "Granholm magic" by abruptly asking her -- on television -- if she was indirectly responsible for a little boy's death.

Oh, the sound of gnashing teeth! In fairness: with Skubick, there's quite a bit of teeth to gnash.

So today in the State Journal Skubick defends his question without labelling it his own. Why? The questioned backfired. Viewers and readers found the question uncalled for and exploitative. They found it inappropriate for a political debate, and as a means of sensationalizing the issues. And Skubick -- used to yucking it up with fellow analysts in the Ivory Tower of Lansing -- couldn't take the heat.

From the editorial:

One viewer accused the moderator of being a "colossal ass" for asking about the Ricky Holland murder during the first debate for governor. Wonder if that viewer saw the recent report on the state's gross mishandling of that little boy's abuse case?
[...]
For those who missed that first gubernatorial debate, the question that produced the most vehement public response dealt with the governor's role in all this.
[...]
Many viewers incorrectly thought the governor was asked if she was responsible for the child's death. What many didn't hear was the word "indirectly" before responsible.

The moderator? Tim Skubick -- himself. Of course, he can't stand to identify himself. Instead, he meanders about, pegging Gov. Granholm for her lack of accountability, drecking up the story of a tragedy for some political points.

It's despicable. And worse yet, Skubick writes the whole thing as a giant love letter to himself: that he -- and he alone -- had the cajones to take a stand against a renegade administration. And that those who see him for what he is -- a muckraker and an opportunist -- cannot hear correctly, or just don't know the facts.

The fact is that Tim Skubick is becoming less and less relevant. Time to take him off the pages of the LSJ, and retire him to the spas of Douglas J.

Granholm pushes to clean up Michigan!

While traveling through Michigan, you've probably seen the many scenic sites of this great state. Whether the rolling dunes of Lake Michigan, or the bountiful forests near Roscommon, you can lose yourself in the natural wonder.

Oh, and along the way, you can see the enticing wonders of Subway, Taco Bell, FIREWORKS IN 4398745 MILES, casinos, car dealerships, Meijer, Denny's, and the list goes on-and-on.

I'm talking about billboards. Those ever-present, every quarter-mile part of the natual landscape. But thanks to the State Legislature and the Groovy Guv, the Weed-B-Gone has been sprayed on these eyesores.

Over 14,000 billboards exist in Michigan, but starting in the rockin' 07, we can feel the winds of change:

Governor Jennifer M. Granholm today signed legislation prohibiting new billboard permits in Michigan. The laws also create new penalties for billboard permit owners who fail to properly maintain their existing billboard sites.
[...]
The laws also increase penalties and streamline administrative processes to help deter illegal advertising and failure to properly maintain sites as well as provide a consistent, statewide process to determine appropriate maintenance of billboard sites. Increased sign registration fees and late payments will provide funding for the program.

Link: Granholm Signs Legislation Permanently Capping New Billboard Permits

All this little Michiganian can say is it's about time!

Although who could ever forget this little gem?

The Rest is Yet to be Written!

Now unveiling MI Amore! -- a blog all about Michigan. But not just any Michigan -- this is about the Michigan! Land of divas and Detroit Redwings. From the shores of Superior to the harbors of Huron, this little knock on the very worn bedpost of the WWW will catalogue ditties of note. Politics, art, history, architecture, and a little bit of everything in between.

And it's happening in style! Time to rock this house!

And to give a fabulous debut to this blog, here's a video of "Unwritten" by Natasha Bedingfield:



Jennifer Granholm should so make this her inaugural song, by the way. Speak out! Say it loud, say it proud, and keep it real. ;)