Friday, A pril 1 0, 2 015 at 1 1:46:46 A M Eastern Daylight Time
Subject: News from League of Women Voters of Berrien and Cass Coun6es Michigan
Date: Thursday, April 2, 2015 at 4:03:16 PM Eastern Daylight Time
From: LWV of Berrien and Cass Coun6es Michigan (sent by LWV of Berrien and Cass Coun6es Michigan
<[email protected]>)
To:
[email protected]
League of Women Voters
of Berrien and Cass
Counties Newsletter
April
2015
LWVBCC: Contact Us
In This Issue
April Book Group Selection
Ballot Proposal Meeting
Lunch with the League
lwvbcc.org
P.O. Box 161
Three Oaks MI 49128
From the President
Saving Lake Michigan
Youth Voter Registration
LWVBCC Calendar
April 13 (Monday) 10:00 am
Book Group meeting
Sheriff Bailey Videos
Oregon's Voter Registration Law
Rare Earth Elements
Editorial
Book Group Meeting Monday, April 13 at 10
The LWVBCC Book Group will discuss two
books related to health at its April 13
meeting. The books are:
Steven Brill America's Bitter Pill: Money,
Politics, Backroom Deals, and the Fight to Fix
Our Broken Healthcare System 2015
Atul Gwande Being Mortal: Medicine and
What Matters in the End. Selected one of the
best books of 2014.
The meeting will start at 10:00 am on
Monday, April 13 and will be held at the home
of member Lorraine Stepanek, 16695 White
Oak Lane in north New Buffalo Township. Please contact Lorraine to
let her know if you plan to attend so she make enough coffee!
May 5 Ballot Proposal Meeting April 22 at 6:30
April 21 (Tuesday) 5:00 pm
LWVBCC Board Meeting.
Bridgman Public Library.
April 22 (Wednesday) 6:30pm
May 5 Ballot Proposal
Meeting. Virtual Learning
Center, Berrien Springs.
April 29 (Wednesday) Noon
Lunch with the League at the
Upton Center, Lakeland
Hospital.
May 5 (Tuesday) Election Day
May 15-17 LWVMI Convention
in Kalamazoo. Consider
coming for the Saturday
workshops and banquet.
May 28 Noon "Saving Lake
Michigan" Panel discussion
co-sponsored with Fernwood.
June 16 LWVBCC Annual
Meeting & Dinner at Orchard
Hills Country Club in
Buchanan.
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pm
The May 5 Ballot Proposal is, on the simplest
level, a vote of the people of Michigan to amend
the constitution to increase the sales tax rate
from 6% to 7%. However, if passed it will
activate 10 other laws dealing with how revenue
will be raised and spent.
It's complicated! Which is why you and yours
should plan to attend the League meeting May
5 State Ballot Proposal: What Is It? What
Would It Do? The meeting will be at 6:30 on
Wednesday, April 22 at the Berrien Springs Public Schools Virtual
Learning Center, 1 Sylvester Ave, Berrien Springs. The speaker will
be Judy Karandjeff, the Vice-President for Advocacy of the League of
Women Voters of Michigan. The meeting is free and open to the
public.
LWVMI has no position on this ballot proposal; the sole purpose of
the presentation is to educate voters. LWVMI has also prepared a
handout that gives the exact language of the Proposal (also known
as Proposal 1) as well as some explanatory information. Voters can
also go to VOTE411.org for the proposal language as well as Pros
and Cons--along with a list of organizations that support and oppose
the proposal.
The League encourages all registered Michiganians to vote on this
important Proposal. If you can't vote on May 5 in person, absentee
ballots are now available. More than 10-20% of the voters need to
make this decision. Be a decision maker!
Lunch with the League Wednesday, April 29
LOCATION CHANGE
Dr. Lowell Hamel MD will be the speaker at our
next lunch meeting on Wednesday, April 29 at
noon. But instead of convening at Coach's Bar
& Grill, we will be the guests of our speaker at
the Upton Education Center at Lakeland
Hospital, 1234 Napier Ave in St. Joseph. A
buffet lunch will be served at no charge. See
below for information on making your
reservation.
LWVBCC
Board of Directors
Chris Zilke President
John Ripley Treasurer
Pat Lauth Secretary
Donna Dutton Membership
Susan Gilbert Commun.
Jean Sharp Environment
Judy Scully Health & SS
Liz Ennis Education
Melissa Clapper At Large
Earl Bickett Special Projects
Board Meeting/Minutes
Board Meetings are held on
the third Tuesday of most
months in either Three Oaks
or Bridgman. Members are
encouraged to attend.
Minutes are posted after they
are approved by the Board.
January Planning Minutes
January 13, 2015
November 18, 2014
October 21, 2014
Quick Links
Consider Membership
Membership Form
Donate to the League
League Information
Election Information
OUR SPONSORS
THANK YOU!
Visit Our Sponsor
Dr. Hamel is Vice President for Medical Affairs and Chief Medical
Officer at Lakeland Hospital. He is also a family doctor who practices
in Berrien Springs. He will speak on two subjects that caught the
attention of attendees at a previous meeting. One is the role of
hospitalists, the new specialists who have primary responsibility for
the care and treatment of hospital patients. The second topic is end
of life palliative care.
Reservations are required for this lunch meeting because the hospital
needs to know exactly how many will be attending. Please contact
Donna Dutton, the LWVBCC Membership Chair, to do that. Members,
their guests and the interested public may attend with a reservation.
Visit Our Sponsor
Welcome New
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From President Chris Zilke
It seems winter is finally releasing its
hold on Michigan, after a bitter cold snap
that I'm sure had the daffodils and
robins wondering if it was spring or not.
Our March agenda was longer than usual
after the mid-January to mid-March
break and your Board spent considerable
time catching up and discussing old as
well as new business items. We keep in
touch during the break via e-mail and phone calls, but the regular
meetings are of primary importance.
Member
Susan Lentz of Coloma
Visit Our Sponsor
Among agenda items: The upcoming LWVMI convention in
Kalamazoo in May. We will have a contingent of 6 delegates + Susan
Gilbert, because Susan's position on the Michigan board makes her
an automatic delegate. I'm happy to say others of you have
expressed an interest in attending.
We worked through arranging dates for upcoming luncheons and
more complex presentations on the two issues of poverty in Berrien,
Cass and Van Buren counties and water generally, but Lake Michigan
specifically Our annual meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, June 16,
and Susan is planning to have a dynamic speaker for us. See the
calendar of events. Surely many will be of interest to you, so please
note dates and times.
Visit Our Sponsor
I've been a delegate to the League of Women Voters Lake Michigan
Region, consisting of delegates from Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and
Wisconsin, for just over a year, and that body needs an alternate
from Michigan. We meet 4 times a year, 3 times in Chicago, and
once for the league's annual convention which rotates among the
four participating states. If you are interested in becoming an
alternate, I will happily provide you with more information.
For this and any other questions, comments, or to volunteer for any
of our activities, please e-mail or call me at 269-449 2225.
Happy Spring !!
Chris
Visit Our Sponsor
May 28 "Saving Lake Michigan" Meeting
Legislative Interviews
Three board members of the League of Women Voters of the Lake
Michigan Region will present a program "Saving Lake Michigan" on
Wednesday, May 28 at noon at Fernwood Botanical Garden, Niles.
Learn more about the work of the LWV Lake Michigan Region to
protect the lake and current threats to the lake, including stormwater
contamination and non-point source pollution, like the Lake Erie
algae blooms that forced the closure of the Toledo, Ohio drinking
water system.
Every other year LWVMI
asks local Leagues to
interview their state
legislators to learn how
they feel on issues
important to the League.
Specific questions are
provided by LWVMI. The
responses to these
questions are not
publicized to encourage an
open exchange.
The program is co-sponsored by the League of Women Voters of
Berrien and Cass Counties and Fernwood and is open to the public.
A buffet lunch will be served first for $14.00 and reservations are
required. Use PayPal or call Fernwood at 269.695.6491 Tuesday
through Sunday.
Note: We hope you will all try making your reservation on PayPal,
as LWVBCC will be using it consistently in the future. You do not
have to have a PayPal account. When given the option, select using
your credit card. It's easy and convenient and available 24/7.
We have four state
legislators: Senator John
Proos and Representatives
Al Pscholka (Dist. 79),
Dave Pagel (Dist. 78) and
Aaron Miller (District 59).
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LWVBCC and Youth Voter Registration
LWVBCC has begun a youth voter registration
drive, very similar to the one we did last
spring-- only then we had a grant from
LWVUS. So far the Voter Registration team,
headed by Earl Bickett, has registered 25
students at Lakeshore High School (Earl & Liz
Ennis) and 28 at Niles High School (John &
Carla Ripley). There are four more dates
scheduled in April at Lake Michigan College
and other high schools. If you would like to
participate in this rewarding effort please contact Earl Bickett.
PS Marilyn Klawiter and Maureen Lighthall were at a meeting on the
Niles School District bond issue and registered one adult. We thank
all our voter registrars!
Save the Date! Annual Meeting and Dinner
Tuesday, June 16
The Annual Meeting and Dinner will be held on June 16 at Orchard
Hills Country Club in Buchanan. The speaker will be retired Berrien
County Chief Judge Al Butzbaugh speaking on poverty and justice.
A 3-4 person team does
each interview. If you are
called and asked to
participate think YES
before you think NO! That's
because they are a unique
opportunity and
fascinating.
LWVMI Convention
May 15-17
The LWVBCC delegation of
6 is full, but members may
attend on their own, for the
full convention or on
Saturday only. And
Kalamazoo is so close. For
registration information go
the the LWVMI website.
Missed Sheriff Bailey? Watch the Videos
If you missed the March 11 Lunch
with the League with speaker
Berrien County Sheriff L. Paul
Bailey, you can still see and hear
his wonderfully informative talk
on the many roles of the sheriff's
department and his views on
community policing by watching
the LWVBCC videos posted on the
LWVBCC website.
Many thanks to member John
Ripley for recording these videos and preparing them for viewing.
Oregon's New Voter Registration Law
In a period when many states are trying to
make it more difficult to register to vote,
Oregon just passed the nation's first-ever
automatic voter registration law. The state
will use information from the Department of
Motor Vehicles (DMV) to register eligible
citizens and will give them 21 days to opt
out if they do not wish to stay registered.
Oregon's new governor Kate Brown
(pictured at left) said "I challenge every
other state in this nation to examine their
policies and to find ways to ensure there are as few barriers as
possible for citizens' right to vote". Read more in a Brennan Center
for Justice article.
Michigan--up for the challenge? Michigan could do this because the
Secretary of State has a shared database for DMV and voter
information. That is why you can register to vote when you get your
driver's license (Motor Voter) and why the voter registration form is
also the driver license address change form.
Michigan's Religious
Freedom Restoration
Legislation
With the experience of
Indiana and Arkansas as an
example, Michigan's
legislators may decide not
to take action on SB 4,
Michigan's version of this
legislation. The same bill
was not passed in the last
session and was promptly
reintroduced by Senator
Mike Shirkey (R-Clear
Lake) in the new session.
PSA Get 2015 Health
Insurance
Uninsured people may still
be able to sign up for
health insurance coverage
for 2015 without penalty.
See Healthcare.gov for
more information. The
website is a source of a lot
of information related to
health insurance.
Page 4 of 6
also the driver license address change form.
Remember Oregon is also the state that brought us vote-by-mail and
enjoys vastly higher voting rates than other states with few instances
of voter fraud.
60 Minutes Segment on Rare Earth
Did you see this segment on Sunday,
March 22? Almost everything with
electronics, from cell phones to
bombers, is dependent on elements
called "rare earth". China mines about
99% of rare earth elements and knows
it is a powerful political weapon. The
U.S. is just realizing this now, about 20
years late, says 60 Minutes. Basically, we have traded dependence
on foreign oil for dependence on Chinese rare earth. Rare Earth has
been written about in this newsletter once, maybe twice, over the
last four years.
It Seems So Obvious to Me
by Susan Gilbert
Many issues seem so clear to me; I guess because the political
motivation is usually so obvious. For example the federal budget.
Early federal budgets don't usually mean much-the federal
government didn't even have one from 2009 until last year, existing
on continuing resolutions. The current House and Senate versions of
the Republican budget have to be taken a little more seriously since
the GOP controls both Houses and could conceivably approve a
budget similar to those proposed.
The authors say the "A Balanced Budget for a Stronger America" will
balance the budget in 10 years with no increase in taxes (in fact
some taxes will be allowed to lapse) and a big increase in military
spending. To create $5.5 trillion in savings, the House budget will
repeal the Affordable Care Act and the taxes that support it
(although one article said they keep the revenues from those taxes
on the income side) and make deep cuts in "Other Mandatory". That
category includes benefit programs such as food stamps, welfare,
disability payments for veterans, Pell grants for college students and
more. See a Washington Post article.
So what exactly is so obvious to me? 1) no one has a crystal ball,
least of all in government, and to predict you can do something 10
years down the road is fantasy. When George W. Bush took office
there was a budget surplus and briefly the conversation was about
how to handle a surplus. 9/11 and a year of war took care of that
issue. 2) They don't really care about 10 years down the road and
can easily claim then there are no crystal balls. What they want to
health insurance.
Wise Words from
a Comedian
James Corden, host of the
Late Late Show and a Brit,
made these good points in
a recent interview.
"Take action, however big
or small. There are awful
things happening in the
world, but just because
they're not happening on
your street doesn't mean
they're not happening. Try
not to forget that. Do what
you can. Your voice is loud
and strong if you speak
up."
"And vote! I know that so
often it can feel pointless,
as if you're voting for the
best of a bad bunch, but
imagine if you weren't
allowed to have a voice.
You'd be outraged and
would stand up for that
power. Your vote is
important. Use it."
A Most Favored
School District
The Lakeshore Excellence
Foundation, a school
booster group, is going to
finance the conversion of
the Lakeshore High
School's library into a 21st
century learning center--at
no cost to the taxpayers.
They also plan to update
the libraries of the Middle
School and three
elementary schools by
2017.
Page 5 of 6
do is start the benefit cuts, the Medicare and Social Security reforms
and, of course get rid of Obamacare. 3) Consequences to real
people don't matter as much as ideology. 4) The deficit is going
down dramatically already and we have had federal budget deficits
most years since the country was founded and 5) they are still
resorting to gimmicks, like an off-the-books foreign wars fund that is
not included in the budget.
Mitch McConnell says the budget includes ideas "that could boost
jobs, raise annual wages by as much as $5,000 per family and drive
economic growth for hardworking Americans." It is not at all obvious
to me how that will happen unless tons of Americans get jobs in
defense plants.
Said LEF Chairman J.C.
Anderson "We're very,
very dependent on state
funding...It appears that
education is just a line item
within the overall budget
that continues to get
hacked and hacked."
A private donor is also
spending $1 million on a
new softball field at
Lakeshore High School.
What about the less
fortunate school districts?
Visit the LWVBCC Facebook Page.
Be sure to like us!
The League: A Valuable Resource in Our Communities
Helping to Make Democracy Work
Interested in joining the League? Go to our website or
contact our Membership Chair Donna Dutton
Our extended membership benefit is available to
new members who join this time of year. Depending on
when you join, you get a longer year for the 12-month
price.
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League of Women Voters of Berrien and Cass Counties Michigan | P.O. Box 161 | Three Oaks | MI | 49128
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