Cliffs Riffs - Stuph n Nonsense

I was pretty fired up about the recent repeal of our consumer pricing law in Michigan that requires retails to have items individually priced. I wasn't upset about the price tagging, but I was very upset that the NEW law contained a provision that made it a law that could not be undone by popular vote i.e. a referendum. I asked a friend of mine who is an attorney about passing such a law and she told me that the Michigan Constitution guarantees voters the power to change laws passed in Lansing by a referendum. So I went to look it up myself - and she is correct - to a point! This is Article 2, subsection 9 of the Michigan Constitution I highlighted the important parts. Please read the whole thing with attention to the words in red. "§ 9 Initiative and referendum; limitations; appropriations; petitions. Sec. 9. The people reserve to themselves the power to propose laws and to enact and reject laws, called the initiative, and the power to approve or reject laws enacted ...

A song about how sometimes the detours are what make life great. http://soundcloud.com/bigreddawg/not-exactly # Not Exactly   words n music by Cliff Yankovich aka BigRedDawg It wasn't exactly what I'd planned, but I went with it. (repeat) You see It wasn't exactly who I am, but I went with it. (repeat) It wasn't the way I'd seen it, And I thought it should be. Sometimes the big picture, Ain't all about me. (Chorus) It wasn't close to the road I'd drive, if it was left to me, But sometimes the detours are where we're supposed to be. (Chorus) repeat both verses (Chorus)

Look at this new Charmin ad - sad to say it was in Reader's Digest, who also ran a 1/2 page ad for Judgement Day on May 21st of this year. Times are tough and even Reader's Digest has to scrape the barrell for ad bucks. Several questions come to mind: 1. Is this a problem for America - bits of TP stuck to our collective hinneys? 2. Who is inspecting whom for said bits and why? 3. How do they know the new Charmin leaves fewer pieces behind? I just realized the correlation between this ad and the one for Judgement Day. This kind of lame ass ad COULD be an indication of the end of the world. Thanks Reader's Digest for keeping me on top of things that matter.

How come Republicans are so upset about President Obama? How come Democrats are so excited about President Obama? What has he done to inspire such vitriol or any kudos? I am mystified. Let's see. Any big changes in foreign policy? Hmmm, we took some troops OUT of Iraq, but we put a whole bunch more in Afghanistan so that pretty much balances out. Our young men and women continue to lose their lives and limbs in the desert over there and we continue to spend over 120 MILLION DOLLARS every day in those two countries - things are moving along at the same pace as when Bush the Second was in charge. Suicide is a HUGE problem in the Armed Forces just as it was when GWB ran things. Gitmo is still open for business. On the home front Prez O continued to write the bail out checks to "free market" Wall Street that Prez B started. He has done nothing to punish anyone responsible for the greatest financial meltdown since the Great Depression. The tax breaks that Prez B initiate...

My latest electronica/ambient offering: http://soundcloud.com/search?q%5Bfulltext%5D=Bigreddawg+Guten+Tag

There has been a lot of discussion in our local paper about supporting local businesses. The Lowell community is really great at this - they want to see local shops and service providers succeed. Last year we helped our daughter Ella (re)open a coffee shop here in Lowell. (you can learn about it here: http://www.ellasoflowell.com/ ). Julie and I were convinced that our favorite town needed a place for good coffee and fresh soups and sandwiches. One of our goals at Ella's was to keep as much of the money in the local/regional/state economy as we could. We buy our meat from Gary's - a butcher shop a block away and we buy milk and other things at the local Meijers. Ella has soap and various products from Lowell area artists. ALL of our coffee is roasted in Michigan - Grand Rapids Roasters in Grand Rapids and Evelyn Bay in Brooklyn, MI. We sell Lighthouse dressings made in Lowell and kettle corn from Grand Rapids. We sell teas from Traverse City. As I was working on some paperwo...

So - Amy is in Texas for a few months and I wanted her to hear a little song I recorded for Hunters first birthday - was wondering how to get it to her and she told me about Sound Cloud. What a cool place - small timers like me can store up to 120 minutes of our "sound files" - be they music, poetry, or whatever - there for free. You get more storage space and features for a nominal fee of $40 US a year. Sound Cloud was a great recommend - thanks Amy. My music files are here:  http://soundcloud.com/bigreddawg