12.21.11 Bee-otch of the Day: Rick Snyder

BECOME AN AFFILIATE OF T-SHIRT HELL AND MAKE SOME MONEY! DON'T FORGET TO "LIKE" BEE-OTCH OF THE DAY ON FACEBOOK! ------------------- Name: Rick Snyder Age: 53 Occupation: failed CEO Last Seen: Lansing, MI Bee-otched For: the probable sounds of silence --- Interestingly enough, I have a step-grandfather who loves right-winged talk radio. His favorite type of music? He doesn't care. That's right! Somebody who doesn't care about any type of music, period, and he blames all the world's ills on the liberals. Sounds like Rick Snyder to me. Earlier this year, I wrote about a school district in northern Michigan - Forest Area, which basically consists of Fife Lake and South Boardman - who eliminated their music program due to the severe cuts to schools created by newly-elected governor pRick Snyder. Now, another school district might have to cut part of their music program: my ala mater. That's right! Elk Rapids High School might have to cut their popular Zero Hour Jazz Lab due to Snyder's cuts. David McKeon, the school's music teacher told local NBC affiliate WPBN that all their funding was cut last May and is working diligently to keep the now-struggling program afloat. Their lifeline? A CD. The disc - sold at the High School - features performances by the 20-piece group, which meets at 6:50 a.m. every morning. The Lab itself is a full-credit class and has been an ERHS tradition for years. I was a student of Mr. McKeon's throughout my Middle and High School years. I fondly remember when the High Schoolers ran across the street with their instruments to the Middle School since their band room was used for both schools (the Middle School was the old High School). In 1996, while I was a Freshman, the new - and spacious - band room in the High School was finally erected, ending the days of running through the blizzard just to play for our grades. Seeing the band program getting downgraded in 15 years because of Snyder's cost-cutting antics is not just a slap in the face to Elk Rapids - pop. 1,600 - but also McKeon, who has helped his bands win awards. Nothing like Snyder willing to do anything to please his rich buddies while the teens in Elk Rapids might end up with one less creative outlet. I'll be fair. Since Snyder became governor last January, yeah, he's done some failed union busting (almost firing the union caretakers at the Grand Rapids Vets Home, which was overruled by a judge), taken over a mostly-black city for the sake of its mostly-white twin town (Benton Harbor) and has risen taxes for the poor and giving it to his wealthy buddies. However, Snyder has signed a few good bills, one for helping out poor people with their heating bills and another that prevents school bullying. Is a D- too conservative for Snyder? I think not. As an ERS student, I remembered some of the problems they faced throughout my tenure as a student. Some of the reasons were due to budget problems and IMO, the fact that there's a ton of retirees in the area who didn't want to pay taxes. Elk Rapids is a conservative town politically and yes, financially at times. I know, the High School got a major remodeling in the late 90's, and since I graduated, the schools have gotten major, MAJOR facelifts. I almost fainted looking at the new football stadium for the first time. But that's progress. Sadly, some of that's going to waste thanks to Snyder's antics. In the end, he'll be one and done. He'll cry that Michigan's coming back, but that's only because Bush is out of office. Ever notice that when Clinton was president, Michigan was a kick-ass state? Really. During the Bush years, that faded to a memory. After all, one state had to get all the problems while Mississippi started building Toyotas at $8 per hour. To hell with unions, let's go right to work and while were at it, force the middle class into being the working poor. Gotta love that Bush! Ya gotta love a man whose stupidity forced us into Iraq and cost us over $800 billion. Thankfully, the troops are home. However, they'll have one less band to see if not enough people buy their CDs. ---   Got a Bee-otch to nominate? E-mail us @ chuck69dotcom@gmail.com. All suggestions (except for me) are welcome! Bee-otch of the Day Archives can be seen on http://beeotchoftheday.blogspot.com ! Bee-otch of the Day is a production of Chuck69.com, Grand Rapids' site for Stern, politics and more!