Michigan Votes Forum

In all likelyhood Jennifer will veto this bill. But before we hand her the bill, we need to be sure we have enough votes to override her veto. We have enough in the Rebublican controlled senate. However in the Dem controlled house we are still about 3 votes shy of an override. Even though this bill was introduced by the Dems, there are some Dems who favor this bill that may not vote in favor of an override because they don't want to go against "their" governor. The way I see it, if Jennifer vetos this bill she would be the one going against "her" fellow Dems. They have introduced 2 bills. This one and HB-5794 a clean bill that would repeal the law outright with no strings attached! She hasn't done her party any favors with "her" tax increases. She has put ALL the newly elected house Dems heads on the chopping block with that move. Why do you think she waited until immediatly after the 2006 election to raise our taxes to a record level? Because she is now in her final term and has NOTHING to lose. Also by doing something contraversial early, there is a chance that people may forget by election time. This is why in her "state of the state" address she said no new tax hikes. It's an election year, last year wasn't! These newly elected house Dems have everything to lose by raising taxes. She has put thier political futures in grave jeopardy. Why they would not be willing to go against her, I have no idea. Anyways, that's where we are right now. What YOU and EVERYONE ELSE that wants to make helmet choice a reality needs to do is find out how your state rep voted. If they are a Republican who voted against, or a Dem who voted for this bill, you need to write them and POLITELY ask them to support a veto override of this bill. It's an election year, they're intrested in what the voters have to say!

here we go again the state has to make money onthe people again.i say no fees riding without a helmet.if the state wants to charge that fee should cover the ins.

freedom is not paying for something we should be able to do.

freedom is not paying for something we should be able to do.

wouldn't know freedom if it bit them on the patoot.

Jeny must be driving a hard bargain. thanks for voting for her guys....

Is a female jackass. Look it up! How right they are!

For those of you who don't know, Mary peters is the U.S. Secretary of Transportation. She is also a serial lawbreaker. She has broken at least 2 Congressional laws that I know of. 1) The U.S. Congress passed a bipartisan bill banning unsafe, illegal Mexican trucks from crossing our border and putting innocent drivers at risk here in America. This bill was then signed by President Bush. But Bush's very own appointee, Mary Peters, went against the Congress and the President by allowing these trucks on our highways! 2) Motorcycle helmet laws are a "states rights" issue. The Federal government has no authority to tell states to enact mandatory helmet laws, only to promote rider education and driver awareness programs. The MRF and AMA have worked dilegently to get some much needed federal money to all 50 states for riders ed and driver awareness ads. And they were successful. But Ms. Peters is now breaking the law once again by using this money to lobby state governors and congress to enact FEDERAL NATIONWIDE helmet laws! SHE NEEDS TO BE STOPPED !!! What can YOU do? Call the "Fire Mary Peters" whistleblowers hotline at 202-508-6439. Tell then you mant Ms. Peters removed from her position IMMEDIATELY! Also you can write your congressman in Washington and ask that they hold Mary Peters in contempt of congress.

...you can log on to FireMaryPeters.com for more info. Also if you know anyone in Arizona let them know she plans on running for governor of that state. Let them know exactly who she is and be sure that she DOES NOT get elected!

...Dick DeVos had been elected. Hmmm, I wonder what things would be like today. First off we would be enjoying our 2nd season of free riding, without the bu--sh-- fee. Second, since the governor has the power to remove Kwame from office, he'd be gone. DeVos would've said "buh-bye A--HOLE", yoink, gone, done! We would not be the laughingstock of the nation. Third, we would not have seen the largest tax increase in Michigan's history. But remember what Jennifer said in 2006, "it's not my fault, it's Bush's." I'm certainly not sticking up for Bush, but EVERYTHING I've mentioned falls squarely on Jennifers shoulders. Too little, too late! I hate to say I told you so, BUT... ...I TOLD YOU SO !!!!!

Tells me that 53% of Michiganders are total idiots. Keep that in mind when you're out there riding!

Many years ago, man thought the world was flat. I can understand why they would've thought so. It was a logical assumption. But in 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue and proved the world was round. How could anybody still think that the world is flat? You CANNOT deny fact! I understand that most people have never rode a motorcycle. Naturally they would assume wearing a helmet is safer. It is a logical assumption. But there are no facts to support this. I don't expect anyone who doesn't ride a motorcycle to study crash data. But those elected to office, who have been given this information, I expect them to make decisions on FACTS and not OPINIONS. The facts are that there is no significant difference in motorcycle fatalities in free states in comparison to helmet states. The very fact that the MAJORITY of states are free states speakes volumes onto itself. In fact the 3 states with the highest fatality RATES (fatalities per 10,000 registered bikes) are Louisiana, California, and Alabama. All 3 have mandatory helmet laws. The 4 states with the lowest fatality rates are; 1)Wisconsin- Helmet choice 18 and older 2)Illinois- NO HELMET LAW 3)New Hampshire- NO HELMET LAW 4)Ohio- Helmet choice 18 and older In fact Governor Granholm sited Louisiana, who reinstated their helmet law in 2004, for keeping Michigan's helmet law. While Louisiana's fatality rate did go up slightly prior to reinstating their law, Louisiana now has the nation's highest fatality rates AFTER the law was reinstated. Louisiana's new governor realizes that having a helmet law has done nothing to reduce fatalities and is in favor of once again repealing Louisiana's mandatory helmet law. Granholm knows this. She has seen the facts. Either she still believes the world is flat, or she has a personal grudge against motorcyclists. Either way she is not qualified for her position. I hope she proves me wrong, but I'm not holding my breath.

Louisiana's former governor Kathleen Blanco (who was voted America's worst Governor, Granholm came in 2nd) who left all those people to drown in New Orleans, also had an agenda against motorcyclists. She was the one who pushed for their helmet law reinstatement and ultimately signed their bill into law. However she (unlike Granholm) was at least smart enough to know she was too incompotent to be governor. She at least had the decency not to run for a 2nd term. Not Jenny. Not with her arrogance. Louisiana now has a new governor. Therefore they have a good chance of once again becoming a free state. I fear Michigan is screwed until we get a new governor as well.

thing she was talking about. When the usefull idiots elected her they wanted a free lunch, they got more taxes and no lunch. Just wait till November when the usefull idiots vote for a change to all out socialism in the whole country....Welcome to Canada south, Eh!

her she was not competent to be governor. the ballot box roared it. she wasn't even supported by her party. all those voters, and all those motorcyclists, (i hate to use the word 'BIKER', as it has a NEGATIVE CONNOTAION IN SOME CIRCLES.) and all those plain, ordinary folks who became fed up with her nonsense just plain voted her out. in louisiana, politics is a blood sport, and it's followed closer than football. (the lions are ALMOST as bad as the saints, i'm sure you understand.) kathy blanco was as liberal of a politician as we've had since Huey P. Long. we had a scoundrel that kept getting re-elected, but he didn't do as much damage in twelve years as SHE did in four. the point is, NEVER UNDER ESTIMATE THE POWER OF THE VOTER. her own party abandoned her after her miserable performance.

This is unbelievable! The State of Michigan will do anything to collect more money for their deep pockets. What's next? Permission to not wear a seatbelt for a price?

...I cannot understand why there are those in Jennifer's party that are unwilling to override her inevatable veto of this bill. She has done them NO favors with HER largest tax increase in our states history. She waited until she was in HER final term to do this. She would not dare try to pull such a stunt when she had an election to win. But since SHE now has NOTHING to lose, why not? She won't be the one with her head on the chopping block! A veto override WILL come WHEN the Republican's take back the House this November. Either the Dems will then vote for an override after SHE cost them THEIR jobs. Or early in 2009 when the Republican controlled Senate AND House will have absolutely no problem overriding her veto. Maybe next year we can even introduce a bill like past bills, WITHOUT A FEE!

She has put her own party in a bad place. It is unfortunate that House Speaker Andy Dillon is getting recall threats for HER tax increases. SHE should be the one getting recalled. But since it would take far less signatures to recall Dillon than Granholm, he may very well have to take the fall for Granholm's inability to successfully run the state. And that's a crying shame! As far as the Republican's taking back the house, if you live in the Monroe area, you can start by voting out Kathy Angerer and vote in Ken DeVee. Ken DeVee cares about motorcyclists issues, Kathy Angerer will not even listen to us. She also wants to raise YOUR insurance rates. Since she won the 2006 GENERAL election by less than 1,000 votes! So it is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT that you vote for DeVee in the August 5th primary. That will get him on the ballot for November's general election. And then you can vote him in and her the hell out! I am calling out ALL Michigan motorcyclists, in whatever part of the state you may live in, to do the same. We are just 3 or 4 votes shy of an override right now! It shouldn't be that hard to pick that up in the general election! If so, 2009 WILL BE the year we FINALLY make it happen!!!

Then she will surely sign it.

then she will sign.

What's the fine for not wearing a Helmet? jtolar@rootracing.com

Worth it.

Worth it.

Are there any points?

Are there any points for not wearing a helmet?

...an ABATE member since 2000. It would really mean a lot to me personally to see Michigan become a "freedom-of-choice" state before the end of the decade. However the only way that's going to happen is through a veto override. But with the Michigan house having a Democrat majority, I don't know if that's going to happen. I do not favor one party over the other, but I would like to see the Republicans take back the state house this November. Two reasons; 1) To GUARANTEE a veto override, and 2) To prevent her from doing any further damage in her final two in office. We do need to keep the "good" Dems like Barb Farrah and Richard LeBlanc. Just weed out the "bad" ones like Kathy Angerer and Kate Ebli. If that happens, there is a damn good chance that we could override her veto in 2009 making my dream of a "FREE" Michigan before the end of the decade come true! If there is absolutely no way we can get it done with Granholm in the governor's chair, we need to elect Mike Bishop governor in 2010. He is currently the Michigan Senate Majority Leader and a firm believer in "freedom-of-choice." Other names I've heard, from both parties, would also be good (all better than Granholm) but I feel Bishop is the best choice for 2010.

Pennsylvania suffered the same tragedy we did in 2006. In '98, Pennsylvania's state house and senate passed bills to make PA a free state, only to be vetoed by then governor Tom Ridge. Unfortunately for PA, Ridge was re-elected that same year. (Sounds PAINFULLY fimilar, doesn't it?) However there was light at the end of this tunnel. In November of 2002, PA elected Ed Rendell governor. And by summer of '03, PA had finally become a FREE state. That's where we are now. However we are actually better off now than PA was midway thru Ridge's final term. Ridge didn't have to veto the bill a 2nd time, Granholm did! There was NO CHANCE of a veto override in PA, there is here. Especially if the Republican's take back the Michigan house. Like the last poster, I too would like to see Mike Bishop become our next governor. If a veto override doesn't happen by the next governor's election. And Bishop gets elected in 2010, summer of 2011 looks real good. It took a new governor for PA to be free. If it does happen here while Jennifer is still in office, it won't be her doing, it'll be ours. If not maybe history will repeat itself here like it did in PA. In 2010 let's elect Mike Bishop governor!

Jennifer vetoed our bill (AGAIN). A veto override would be nice, but a lot of legislators probably only voted "yes" to get re-elected knowing full well that the bill would never see the light of day so long as Jennifer is still in office. Therefore an override probably won't happen. Since our efforts failed legislatively, it's time to try the judicial route; CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE The law CANNOT be enforced as written. There is no such thing as a "D.O.T. approved" helmet. If you are an ABATE member and you get a no-helmet ticket, you will not only be represented in court free of charge, your fine will be paid if you lose the court case. There are 3 things; 1) You MUST be an ABATE member BEFORE you get a ticket, not after. 2) You MUST wear something on your head, even if it's just a bandana. Something you can claim as "your interpretation" of proper headgear. 3) If you do this you must not give the cops any reason to ticket you for anything else. Be sure you are properly licensed, insured, plates not expired, do not speed, and for God's sake, NO ALCOHOL! For more info or to join ABATE, log on to abateofmichigan.org

If you're going to ride helmetless, it's a good idea to do it with at least one other person. You can do it alone, but the bigger the group, the better. Also it is a good idea to have a DOT helmet with you. You may run into a cop with a bad attitude who may not let you leave without one.

"You may run into a cop with a bad attitude" I haven't seen one in the last 20 years that didn't have a bad attitude. Most are ex- high school nerds on a power trip.