We have a busy week ahead of us and I encourage you to join in with others across the state as we lay the foundation for this falls election.
Michigan is the only state in the nation with the job-killing Single Business Tax. We are in a single state recession, and the SBT is part of the reason we’re losing jobs while the rest of the nation prospers.
The SBT is the worst tax in the country because it punishes employers for creating jobs. In addition, companies are forced to pay the SBT even if they make little to no profit. The SBT also taxes businesses more if they provide health care to their employees.
Last week Dick DeVos sent a letter to Gov. Mitch Daniels of Indiana to congratulate him on landing the Honda plant and to offer fair warning that when he is Governor of Michigan, getting these plants won’t be so easy.
In the letter, Dick DeVos said: “Michigan won’t be the same hunting ground for you after Jan. 1, 2007, if the voters choose change and elect me Governor. When the DeVos administration begins working for Michigan by implementing our Turn Around Plan, your competition will be “raising the bar” and providing stiff competition for you here in the Midwest.”
He added, “Unlike the current administration, which apparently believes it is okay for the 2,000 jobs to be in Greensburg, Indiana, my focus will be on bringing good paying jobs to Michigan. For the past few years we’ve watched too many of our residents move into and begin working in the Hoosier state…and I am determined to bring that to an end.”
Michigan has the fifth highest business tax burden in the country, and it is the only state to levy a tax on business production. (Source: Wall Street Journal, 12/12/05, New York Public Policy Institute, 12/13/05)
Due to Michigan’s Single Business Tax, we rank 49th in the nation in competitiveness of business tax climates. (Source: Tax Foundation, 3/10/06)
Moody's Economy.com, an economics consulting firm, places Michigan as the 10th most expensive state for businesses in its most recent survey. The analysis includes labor, tax and energy costs for firms. (Source: Detroit News, 11/23/05)
We’ll see you on the road again! Michigan needs new leadership and we have great candidates ready to lead!!!
Saul Anuzis
STATE STORIES
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060710/OPINION03/607100321/1008/OPINION01
Monday, July 10, 2006
Paul W. Smith
Is alliance best or worst of deals for GM?
O utta my mind on a Monday moanin'.
About a year ago, Kirk Kerkorian insisted he was just a passive investor in General Motors Corp.
What a difference a year makes.
Now what?
I'm pretty sure the father of the Las Vegas mega-resort who dropped out of school in the eighth grade to become a professional boxer isn't going away quietly anytime soon, especially after proposing the Renault-Nissan alliance with GM. When he does leave, he will be carrying a bushel basket of money.
http://www.mlive.com/columns/fljournal/index.ssf?/base/news-2/1152453138111970.xml&coll=5
Is it good for GM?
Base alliance talks on boosting automaker's market share
FLINT
THE FLINT JOURNAL FIRST EDITION
Sunday, July 09, 2006
General Motors should not enter into an alliance with automakers Renault SA and Nissan Motor Co. unless the arrangement helps GM build better cars and trucks that would stabilize, if not increase, its market share.
Otherwise, there is no rationale for this arrangement even though it might make billionaire GM investor Kirk Kerkorian even richer, or further enlarge the legend of Carlos Ghosn, the chief executive of both Renault and Nissan, and currently the most worshiped auto executive on the planet.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060710/AUTO02/607100327/1322/OPINION03
Monday, July 10, 2006
Daniel Howes
If Detroit's clueless, why is GM in play?
D on't know what's worse -- seeing the French and Japanese poised to allegedly come to the rescue of General Motors Corp., if shareholder Kirk Kerkorian gets his way.
Or witnessing hard evidence -- in the form of the Chrysler Group's new "Ask Dr. Z." ad campaign -- that one of Detroit's own thinks it's good business to emphasize the German-ness of their vehicles because being from Motown is bad for their image.
http://calsun.canoe.ca/Business/2006/07/09/1675672-sun.html
Sun, July 9, 2006
Proposed foreign GM link draws ire
UPDATED: 2006-07-09 03:35:09 MST
By AP
DETROIT -- It's been said that what's good for General Motors is good for the country.
But with a proposal now on the table to link the world's largest automaker with Japan's Nissan and France's Renault, the question arises: Which country?
"I'm in favour of Michigan winning. I'm in favour of jobs coming here and the concern is, that if it's controlled by businesses on another continent or other continents, that we may end up on the losing end," Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm said.
http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060710/NEWS01/607100336/1001/news
Published July 10, 2006
[ From the Lansing State Journal ]
Demmer jobs help, but more needed
Experts: Area needs to look beyond factories
By Tom Lambert
Lansing State Journal
Demmer Corp.'s plan to bring nearly 300 manufacturing jobs to Lansing by next year is a much needed boost for a sector in turmoil over the past several years.
City and state officials hope the new jobs - tasked with producing armor for light-duty military vehicles - could be filled mainly through recently laid-off workers at General Motors Corp. and other manufacturers in the area.
http://www.livingstondaily.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060709/NEWS01/607090333/1002
Governor rails against outsourcing — Granholm visits county, picks up union's endorsement
By Kristofer Karol
Gov. Jennifer Granholm swung by Howell on Saturday and told operating engineers that keeping and creating jobs in Michigan and stressing the importance of education will be vital to the state's economic future.
The governor also reaffirmed Saturday that the long-awaited Latson Road interchange at Interstate 96 between Howell and Brighton is on the state's to-do list.
http://www.mlive.com/news/jacitpat/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1152439531248860.xml&coll=3
Granholm plan good
Monday, July 10, 2006
Gov. Jennifer Granholm should get credit where it is due, and that's certainly the case with the small-business savings plan she's proposed.
Bills to put it in place have been introduced in the House and Senate in Lansing, and should be noncontroversial. The plan simply would make it easier, especially for small businesses, to make savings plans available to employees. The state would handle the start-up expenses at the businesses and then turn administration of the plans over to private companies.
http://www.wlns.com/Global/story.asp?S=5128911&nav=0RbQ
Lawmakers expected to start approving state budget
LANSING, Mich. State lawmakers this week are expected to continue working on the budget that starts October First.
Governor Granholm and Republican legislative leaders reached a tentative budget deal in late June, but now it's up to joint House-Senate conference committees to hash out the details.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060710/NEWS06/607100389/1008/NEWS
Michigan falls off in pursuit of tax cheats
Fewer cases get investigated
July 10, 2006
Michigan's tax cheats don't have much reason to worry about being investigated or going to jail.
Last year, the Michigan State Police completed just nine criminal tax investigations -- in a state with more than 6 million individual and business taxpayers. The tally is two for 2006, through May 31.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060710/OPINION01/607100315/1008
Monday, July 10, 2006
State should help local governments trim costs
Cities, counties rightly ask for changes in state rules
Local governments have crafted a report on what the state can do to help them. Naturally, they ask for more money. But they also propose some sound ideas for saving dollars.
Local government has been required to shoulder a huge share of the state's declining economic fortunes. State law provides a formula for sharing state revenue with local communities. As the report notes, one way the state has balanced its budget for the last four years has been to reduce revenue sharing. The reductions have risen from $156 million in the 2003 budget year to nearly $600 million in the current budget year -- with more of the same slated for next year.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060710/NEWS06/607100326/1008/NEWS
Politically speaking
July 10, 2006
LANSING: Democratic challenger shows Wall Street pull
Democrat Alison Vaughn is attempting the difficult task of ousting an incumbent member of the Legislature in the Aug. 8 primary. She will try to beat Sen. Irma Clark-Coleman in a district that includes parts of the west side of Detroit and all of Dearborn.
MACOMB COUNTY: Republican hopes Detroit bashing gets him re-elected
A Macomb County Republican running for re-election to the state House picked an issue to rally his suburban forces: placing Detroit under state receivership.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060710/OPINION01/607100307/1069
Michigan Senate
July 10, 2006
State representatives wanting to make the leap into the state Senate -- even if that means going after an incumbent -- have created some competitive races in Wayne County districts Aug. 8. In the Democratic primaries, the winner is likely to prevail in November, so voters need to do their homework and get to the polls this summer.
http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060709/OPINION01/607090572/1086/opinion
Published July 9, 2006
[ From the Lansing State Journal ]
SOS: Why would voters trade real control for illusion of it?
The Stop Over Spending - or SOS - petition drive is being sold as a bid to put voters in charge of Michigan spending decisions.
In actuality, though, the idea behind SOS is an admission of failure by state voters to handle their own affairs.
Whether SOS makes the November ballot or not - the deadline for petition signatures is Monday - the people of Michigan should be looking for ways to enhance their authority, not hand it away.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060710/OPINION01/607100320/1008
Monday, July 10, 2006
Editorial Rebuttal
Detroit teachers need pay hike, smaller classes
L ike many other Detroit teachers, I am very happy that our union is demanding a sizeable pay hike and class size reduction at this summer's contract bargaining ("Detroit school disputes hurt district, students," July 3).
Without major class size reduction, such as we won in our 1999 strike, Detroit students will never get the kind of attention that they so profoundly deserve. Without pay hikes to make up for last year's contract concessions and to bring us to par with the surrounding school districts, the Detroit district will simply not be able to attract and retain the teachers it needs for the extraordinarily difficult work we do.
http://www.ourmidland.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=16900062&BRD=2289&PAG=461&dept_id=472539&rfi=6
Our View: Michigan's road dilemma
Midland Daily News
07/09/2006
At a time when the Michigan economy continues to struggle, state residents are fed up with taxes and gasoline prices are near their highest levels, government officials are trying to figure out how to pay for future road construction and repairs.
You can understand the challenge. The situation becomes even more difficult when politics are added to the picture.
For example, Gov. Jennifer Granholm has decided the best approach for Michigan is to fix existing roads, rather than building new ones when the state cannot maintain what it already has. Republican opponent Dick DeVos says Granholm’s "Fix It First" program is partly responsible for Michigan’s economic struggles because the state is not spending on new construction to relieve congestion and make it easier for businesses to expand.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060710/NEWS05/607100355/1007/NEWS
Five Things about alternative fuels
July 10, 2006
With oil prices high and quantities eventually limited, other fuels are in the news.
ETHANOL
Detroit automakers have said they plan to double their production of vehicles capable of burning ethanol to 2 million by 2010.
Ethanol could make sense for the United States, because it's mostly distilled and fermented starch crops, such as corn. The country has a lot of that stuff. And using it in place of gas can be better for the environment.
http://www.mlive.com/news/bctimes/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1152440115279850.xml&coll=4
Death penalty by any other name is killing for revenge
Sunday, July 09, 2006
Another unspeakable crime.
Another call for Michigan to kill those who kill others.
It's an understandable gut reaction.
http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060710/OPINION01/607100321/1086/opinion
Published July 10, 2006
[ From the Lansing State Journal ]
Aftermath: Benefits lawsuit at MSU part of real agenda behind Proposal 2
Some good could actually come out of a lawsuit filed against Michigan State University to halt health benefits for same-sex couples and their families: Michiganians are getting a good look at the true agenda of certain groups in this state.
That agenda is quite simple: to impose their moral views on the state, even if it costs citizens and children health coverage.
Only Michigan voters, awakened to the truth, can fight this sad prejudice.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060710/METRO/607100348
Monday, July 10, 2006
Kilpatrick is 'doing fine' in hospital, doctor says
Jennifer Chambers / The Detroit News
DETROIT -- Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick is "doing fine" and is expected to remain hospitalized in Houston for at least the next three days recovering from diverticulitis, an inflammation of the intestines, the mayor's doctor said Sunday night.
Kilpatrick, 36, became ill Thursday while attending a Church of God in Christ convention and checked himself into a hospital Friday morning. He likely will see a change in his diet, said Dr. Aaron Maddox, the mayor's personal physician. Maddox flew to Houston at the request of Kilpatrick, who was concerned about the diagnosis, Maddox said at a news conference Sunday.
NATIONAL STORIES
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060710/POLITICS/607100322/1022
Monday, July 10, 2006
Hearing begins on spying program
Bush administration and civil liberties groups in Detroit will argue for and against wiretapping.
Gregg Krupa / The Detroit News
DETROIT -- Lawyers for the Bush administration and groups seeking to halt warrantless wiretapping of phone calls in the war on terror will be back in U.S. District Court today, continuing the legal battles over civil liberties and national security.
At a hearing before U.S. District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor, the administration will argue that the case should be dismissed based on the government's privilege against revealing military and state secrets.
Lawmaker questions Bush intel programs
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The White House possibly broke the law by keeping intelligence activities a secret from the lawmakers responsible for overseeing them, the House Intelligence Committee chairman said Sunday.
Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Mich., said he was informed about the programs by whistleblowers in the intelligence community and then asked the Bush administration about the programs, using code names. Hoekstra said members of the House and Senate intelligence committees then were briefed on the programs, which he said is required by law.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060710/POLITICS/607100326/1022
Monday, July 10, 2006
Hoekstra: White House secrets wrong
Holland Republican says administration has legal duty to inform Congress of its intelligence activities.
Jennifer Chambers / The Detroit News
The White House may have broken the law by keeping intelligence activities a secret from Congress, U.S. Rep. Peter Hoekstra, the Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said Sunday.
Hoekstra said he was informed about the programs by whistleblowers in the intelligence community and then asked the Bush administration about the programs, using code names. Hoekstra said members of the House and Senate intelligence committees then were briefed on the programs, which he said is required by law.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/09/AR2006070900705.html
Hoekstra Urges Bush to Impart Intelligence Details
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, July 10, 2006; Page A07
The Bush administration briefed top lawmakers on a significant intelligence program only after a key Republican committee chairman angrily complained of being left in the dark, the chairman said yesterday.
House intelligence committee Chairman Peter Hoekstra (R-Mich.) would not describe the program, but he said it was significant enough that the administration should have briefed him and others voluntarily, without waiting for them to learn of it through government tipsters.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/jer/?id=110008629
Not Very Swift
Did the New York Times serve the public good by publishing classified information?
Monday, July 10, 2006 12:01 a.m. EDT
Paul Gigot: This week on "The Journal Editorial Report," a defiant North Korea promises more missile launches as President Bush tries to rally the world to stop the rogue state. Plus, what's fit and unfit to print? Newspapers expose a secret program to track terror financing, fueling the debate over the obligations of the press in war time. And passions flare as Mexico faces a potential electoral crisis. What does that country's presidential vote mean for the U.S.? First the headlines.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/IMMIGRATION_CLINTON?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Clinton praises Bush on immigration reform
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Former President Bill Clinton praised President Bush on Saturday for supporting reforms that would allow millions of illegal immigrants to seek citizenship but said the debate in Congress is being fomented by Republicans who want to divide America.
"I'm proud of him for doing it and I thanked him for doing it," he said of Bush during a "Cafe con Clinton" breakfast speech to the annual conference of the National Council of La Raza, the nation's largest Hispanic civil rights advocacy group.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=110008631
Enforcement Isn't Enough
A conservative statement for immigration reform.
Monday, July 10, 2006 12:01 a.m. EDT
At this critical moment in the immigration debate, conservatives need to examine the role we are playing in this great national issue. In many respects, the way we position ourselves on immigration will determine whether we retain the mantle of majority leadership. What side of history do conservatives want to be on? Will we remain a movement that governs--that offers practical solutions to the problems facing the country?
Conservatives have always prided themselves on acknowledging, in the words of John Adams, that "Facts are stubborn things." Well, immigration--both the robust annual flow required to keep our economy growing and the 12 million illegal immigrants already in the country--is a fact of life in the U.S. today. And the only practical way to deal with these stubborn realities is with a comprehensive solution, one that includes border security, interior enforcement, a guest worker program and status for the illegal immigrants already here.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110008632
Conservatives and Immigration
The debate on the right about freedom, culture and the welfare state.
Monday, July 10, 2006 12:01 a.m. EDT
No issue more deeply divides American conservatives today than immigration. It's the subject on which we get the most critical mail by far, no doubt reflecting this split on the right. So with Congress holding hearings on the issue around the country, perhaps it's a good moment to step back and explain the roots of our own, longstanding position favoring open immigration.
A position, by the way, on which we hardly stand alone. There is also President Bush, and before him the Gipper. (See our editorial, "Reagan on Immigration.") In the context of the current debate, we also print an open letter supporting comprehensive immigration reform from 33 prominent conservatives, including former Secretary of State George Shultz and GOP Vice Presidential nominee Jack Kemp. (The letter is available here.)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/09/AR2006070900553.html
Yes on Bilingual Ballots
Encourage non-English speakers to make informed choices.
Monday, July 10, 2006; Page A16
THE HOUSE of Representatives' smooth passage to renewal of the Voting Rights Act hit a bump last month when a group of conservative Republicans rebelled over, among other things, provisions to require bilingual ballots in many jurisdictions. The rebels were wrong. When the House takes up the measure, as it may do this week, it should reject any effort to strip the bilingual-ballot requirement or to allow objections over the rule to torpedo this important measure.
The disputed provisions were adopted as part of the 1975 Voting Rights Act. The requirements apply to political subdivisions where there is a significant population (more than 5 percent of eligible voters, or 10,000, whichever is fewer) of "language minority" voters (defined as those of Hispanic, Asian, Native American or Alaskan Native origins) and a higher than average illiteracy rate among that group. Currently, nearly 500 jurisdictions in 31 states must provide election information -- from registration requirements to instructions to ballots -- in more than one language; five states -- Alaska, Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas -- must provide such help statewide.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/09/AR2006070900387.html
$2 Million Payment to Former Lobbyist Raises Eyebrows
Monday, July 10, 2006; Page D01
You've probably never heard of Jeffrey S. Shockey. So, for simplicity's sake, think of him as the Two Million Dollar Man.
The 40-year-old congressional staffer last year collected nearly $2 million in severance payments from his former employer, a lobbying firm that specializes in winning benefits from the committee he now serves. Many longtime Washingtonians are shaking their heads in disbelief over the payout's enormous size, its ad hoc method of calculation and the fact that Shockey received it while working as a senior congressional aide.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/R/RAID_ON_CONGRESS?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Papers from Jefferson office raid in limbo
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Prosecutors and investigators building a bribery case against Rep. William Jefferson have been unable to examine the documents and computer files seized in a search of the lawmaker's Capitol Hill office.
The materials were placed off limits by President Bush for 45 days, a cooling-off period that ended Sunday. Yet there has been no resolution of the court fight or talks between congressional leaders and the Justice Department.
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/
Posted at 06:02 AM ET, 07/10/2006
Insider Interview: John McCain
As part of our continuing series of interviews with politicians weighing bids for president in 2008, the Post's Dan Balz and I sat down with Arizona Sen. John McCain (R) late last month.
Much has been written on The Fix and elsewhere about McCain's public support for President Bush on issues like the war in Iraq and immigration, as well as his more private courtship of key players from the president's 2000 and 2004 races.
http://www.mlive.com/news/jacitpat/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1152439546248860.xml&coll=3
Presidential process
Monday, July 10, 2006
U.S. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Detroit, is getting traction on his long push to reform the Democratic Party's presidential selection process. Michigan and the nation -- stuck as they are right now with two dominant political parties -- only can benefit from Democratic reform.
Last month, a Democratic panel endorsed a revamped schedule for primaries and caucuses. It would add a caucus after the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses and add a primary after the New Hampshire primary. (The new schedule still needs a vote by the full Democratic National Committee.)
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/D/DO_LITTLE_CONGRESS?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
House GOP tries to shrug off setbacks
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Could a Republican-controlled Congress, pass a bill to protect the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance from court challenges?
No problem, especially if proposed during the patriotic season leading up to the Fourth of July, Republican leaders thought.
No way, it turned out.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_NKOREA_IRAN?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
U.S. standoffs with Iran, N.Korea continue
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush has softened the U.S. stance against Iran and North Korea, trying to bargain with regimes he once lumped with Iraq in an "axis of evil."
But the results in his second term are largely the same as in his first - nuclear standoffs against nations that define themselves by their opposition to U.S. policies even as they angle for Washington's attention.
The twin impasses are coming to a head this election-year summer at the same time that U.S. military deaths are trending up in Iraq, support for the war is dropping at home and the Bush administration is scrambling to respond to a resurgent Taliban in Afghanistan.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_NKOREA?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
U.S. urges China to pressure North Korea
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The United States is urging China to ratchet up pressure on North Korea to end its missile tests and return to international nuclear disarmament talks.
Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns, the Bush administration's point man on North Korea, says Beijing is crucial to solving a standoff in the wake of North Korea's test-firing of seven missiles, including some that possibly could reach the American continent. China is North Korea's main ally and trading partner.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BUSH_GERMANY?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Bush to meet with German Chancellor Thurs.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- There are still disagreements over such issues as global warming, the death penalty and the U.S.-run prison at Guantanamo Bay, but it is still hard to remember a time when U.S.-German relations were on a sounder footing.
And the good feelings will be on display Thursday when, while en route to the G-8 summit in Russia, President Bush will be the guest of Chancellor Angela Merkel, head of Germany's Christian Democrats, on a visit to her home state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in the former East Germany.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/09/AR2006070900544.html
Cultivating Waste
Massive federal farming entitlements hurt at home.
Monday, July 10, 2006; Page A16
HEART SURGEON Jimmy Frank Howell owns a piece of land that hasn't produced crops in years. The federal government has paid him $490,709 in rice subsidies since 1996. Michael T. Sullivan's family, corn farmers, sold most of their crop last year above a government-set minimum price. He got $292,054 in federal agricultural payments anyway.
We've known for a long time that America's bloated food subsidy programs rile foreign governments, complicate trade talks, distort agricultural prices and disproportionately benefit large agribusinesses. As if that weren't enough, the results of a nine-month Post investigation published last week vividly detail the scandalous waste of America's vast farm subsidy system.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060710/OPINION03/607100319/1008/OPINION01
Monday, July 10, 2006
Deb Price
N.Y. gay ruling qualifies as believe it or not
A building in Central Asia nicknamed the "cigarette lighter" due to its shape actually caught on fire! A Georgia woman collects outhouses in her backyard! And, hold on, last year a Utah man rid his house of 70,000 empty beer cans!
With all the oddities in the world, it's no doubt hard to reach the exclamation-point threshold required to be acknowledged by Ripley's Believe It or Not!
But I'm confident my submission could measure up: New York's top court rules gays can't marry 'cause heterosexual unions are too unstable!
