Cliffs Riffs - Stuph n Nonsense

A lot of the hue and cry against the recent healthcare legislation is tied up in the claim that such legislation is unconstitutional. Personally, I am disappointed with the just passed legislation because I wish it had gone further and established National Health Care. One set of rules for the whole country. One insurer. One payer. Same set of rules from MA to CA. Call me a commie and a socialist (sticks n stones, etc) but that is what I believe is the only answer to the quagmire that is our current health care. Back to the issue:  I only went to high school (but it was a good high school) and even I can find some stuff in the constitution that might speal directly to nationalized healthcare: "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union , establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility , provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare , and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Const...

BuyMichiganNow.com is one of my favorite websites. (So much so that I recently researched and wrote a story for them about Litehouse foods in Lowell: http://www.buymichigannow.com/news.php?action=news_full&id=126 ) Lisa at BuyMichiganNow is one of the driving forces behind getting people to understand the economic impact spending our money on Michigan produced food items has. If we all spend just $10 of our weekly food budget on things produced in Michigan, then 37 Million dollars a week stays in our economy! So get out there and buy food, beer, wine, dairy products, cereal, vegetables and other Michigan consumables. Anyway, Lisa just put up some GOOD news about Michigan on her website: http://www.buymichigannow.com/news.php?action=news_full&id=127

It was a blistering 24 degrees today, so I steered Newt toward the park by the river so we could cool off. Hmmm, no one else was there so we had the picnic tables all to ourselves. Wish I had brought some charcoal and animal parts to grill. We scooted around the paved trail down by the Grand River. No swimmers or fisherman. Checked my mirror and no one was behind me either. No too many soccer players on the field today. Tried to make it up this hill through a drift of snow. When we came to rest in the deep snow it was coolio - the heat from the engine and exhaust melted the snow and I was surrounded by steam. I crab-walked the bike back down the hill a little to get the shot. We do not give up. Made it on the second attempt. After about 45 minutes of horsing around it was time to head home - my feetsies were getting cold.

I read the story about Republican legislators visiting Lowell last week with ideas on how to fix Michigan with some interest. I could not attend because I had to work. Might I suggest that the answer is not going to come from Lansing? These gentlemen are members of the same Republican party that voted themselves the biggest pay raise in history when they were in control of the government in our state. Our legislators are the second or third highest paid in the country while our state economy has been in the bottom 5 for the last 5-10 years. When our economy officially tanked at the end of 2008, these same legislators (both parties) took the "impressive" action of a pay cut - to take effect in 2011. What joke. How nice to have a guaranteed salary while the state economy goes down the toilet. Before any democrats reading this get too smug, let me remind you that your lady has been running our state since 2003. Enough said? My point is this - I am not looking for answers from...

When Grand Haven bowling coach Patrick Mitchell talked with us regarding Chelsea Winkelman the words “focus” and “focused” entered the conversation numerous times. Mitchell even went so far as to say that her focus was the strongest part of her game. “Chelsea is a competitor,” Mitchell said. “When she gets locked in it is like watching a robot. She is probably the most focused one on the team.” Focus and consistency are two attributes that separate great bowlers from the good ones. They have paid off for Chelsea, a junior, in the fact that she rolled a conference high single game score last season with a 276 and is currently leading the conference with a 259. Her concentration helps her keep her average consistently in the 180 to 190 range. Don’t get the impression that Winkelman is off in her own little world when she is bowling – she combines her attention to detail with a great deal of team spirit and is not shy when it comes to cheering on the rest of the Bucs. Chelsea got i...

Great times are there to be had in our own backyard(s). Julie and I finished up at the store, came home to walk the dog and prep for our night with the Grand Rapids Symphony http://www.grsymphony.org/ - with special guest Dame Evelyn Glennie. We started with a visit for dinner at Marco New American Bistro at Forest Hill and Cascade Roads. http://www.marcobistro.com/ I went with French Onion soup and a wonderful House salad - and we split "gratin exotic mushrooms baked in herbed mushroom broth, fontina and asiago cheese". Double yum. Neither of us drank since we were heading out and we didn't have time for dessert, but we enjoyed everything our own Ella Bella set before us (she makes a mean Long Island Ice Tea, by the way). This would be Ella. Before reading the program, neither of us realized just how wonderful a job the GR Symphony has been doing the last few years - gaining national recognition and Grammy nominations. They were on their game last night and percussioni...

Julie Claire surprised me with a bottle of B. Nektar Mead - specifically one of their bottles of Tupelo Honey Mead (limited supply, but still available http://www.bnektar.com/ ). Very, very delicious. Not too sweet, but sweet enough. Yummy for my tummy. Thanks Julie Claire!