Kalamazoo Gazette:

Mabel Rawlinson was killed on Aug. 23, 1943, when her plane crashed during a training exercise at a military base in North Carolina.

Rawlinson, 26, was a member of a newly formed unit of female pilots serving in World War II. But the pilots were not recognized as enlisted soldiers.

So the U.S. Army did not pay to bring Rawlinson’s body back to her hometown of Kalamazoo.

It did not pay for the small graveside ceremony at Mount Ever-Rest Memorial Park.

She received no medals.

“She was forgotten,” said Pamela Pohly, Rawlinson’s niece.

But not anymore.

Sixty-six years after a group of 1,102 women, including Rawlinson, broke the gender barrier in the sky, enabling generations of women to become military pilots, President Barack Obama has awarded the Women Airforce Service Pilots the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor accorded by Congress.

About time.

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Oscar winner Michael Moore has more big plans for his adopted northern Michigan hometown of Traverse City, where he’s already established a film festival.

Moore said Saturday that he and comedian Jeff Garlin, a star and executive producer of the HBO series “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” will organize the Traverse City Comedy Arts Festival. It will run over a weekend and feature movies, stand-up and sketch comedy and other entertainment. A date has not been chosen yet for next year’s kickoff.

I thought Michael Moore was a 24/7 comedy fest already.

Anyway, here’s one Moore’s funnier remarks:

“The Iraqis who have risen up against the occupation are not “insurgents” or “terrorists” or “The Enemy.” They are the REVOLUTION, the Minutemen, and their numbers will grow — and they will win.” –Michael Moore, April 14, 2004

Wait. Did Murdoc say “funnier”? He meant “unpatriotic”.

Oh, and “apparently quite wrong”.

To many people struggling in this job-starved part of rural Michigan, unemployment is a bigger threat than terrorists.

With unemployment at more than 17 percent, many residents say they would welcome detainees from Guantanamo Bay in order to save the 280 jobs at a prison scheduled to close because of state budget cuts.

“We’ll take the most dangerous prisoners the world has to offer if we have to,” corrections officer Paul Piche said Monday.

Another location getting attention is Fort Leavenworth.

Murdoc certainly doesn’t think saving 280 jobs is justification for bringing these guys to the Wolverine state.

Seems to Murdoc that the ideal place to house these dirtbags would be at some remote military-only facility where the chance of escaping is pretty much zero, the possibility of affecting US citizens is nil even if prisoners’ buddies try to stage a break-out or punitive strike, and the ability of protesters and other troublemakers to interfere is zilch.

Say, on an island somewhere.

Via Donovan.

Via Instapundit.

It resembled most any Sunday afternoon picnic in Bronson Park. Except most of the people assembled around tables filled with watermelon and grilled goodies had firearms in holsters strapped to their waists.

The Glocks and the Smith & Wessons remained holstered but visible during a three-hour Open Carry Picnic designed to raise public awareness of what organizers called Second Amendment rights in Michigan to openly carry a firearm in most places.

Murdoc was not too far from Kalamazoo this past weekend, but he didn’t know of this event.

Predictably, the comments section is full of lunatics. For a good laugh, go read some the choice ones.

Rep. Pam Byrnes, D-Chelsea, said it will be hard for lawmakers facing re-election next year to vote for a higher tax. She said the gas tax plan is backed by the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, which argues that improved roads will encourage businesses to come to Michigan.

Yes. And we all know how higher taxes are always encouraging to businesses, too.

Here’s Michigan with it’s puny 19 cent tax:

Michigan's gasoline prices are currently the highest in the nation.

Raising taxes sure will help Michigan.

A 25% cut in budgets for state veterans organizations is a tough blow.

Driggs Skylark Biplane, Public Museum, Grand Rapids, MI

The Driggs Aircraft Company of Lansing, Michigan, built only twenty-one Skylark biplanes between 1929 and 1931. Most of them were used in Western Michigan and Northern Indiana for training pilots, stunts in airshows, or carrying passengers on short business and pleasure trips. The Skylark was the favored aircraft of Northern Air Service, Central Air Service, and the Kent and Impala Flying Clubs, all based at the old Kent County Airport.

Even though its economic success was cut short by the Great Depression, the Skylark represented a leap forward in light aircraft technology. The lightweight canvas over frame design (less than 1,000 pounds with the engine) and more powerful engines were stable in the air, and allowed them to become airborne with shorter takeoff distances.

This is the only surviving production Skylark. It had a 96 h.p. engine that gave a top speed of 100 mph and a cruising range of 300 miles.

Murdoc took this photo this past weekend. A couple of more views below:

Driggs Skylark Biplane

Driggs Skylark Biplane

President Barack Obama’s proposed cap-and-trade system on greenhouse gas emissions is a giant economic dagger aimed at the nation’s heartland — particularly Michigan. It is a multibillion-dollar tax hike on everything that Michigan does, including making things, driving cars and burning coal.

Now, there is a lot wrong with Michigan. But if auto manufacturing is worth bailing out, why turn around and torpedo it with something like this? The only way that makes sense is if the bail-out money isn’t really about saving the auto makers as much as it’s about giving money to the right people.