Governor

[starrfish]

Religion is a huge biggee. As a woman, I am scared to death of DeVos getting into office. You may guess as to why I am so fearful.

[GaryP]

I have no problem with the wealth on its own. It's the business of Amway that I have a problem with. Anyone who runs that kind of business should not be running the state.

[Rizzo]

Can we put to rest the Scamway claim, please? Amway and Mid-level marketing are obnoxious but they aren’t a scam or a pyramid scheme. If they were they wouldn't have been around for 40 years.

[torgo]

He's already foreshadowed that he'll be in lock step with the more conservative men in gov't who think they have the right to tell women what's best for their health - based on a religious "moral" belief.

[GRDadof3]

He's already foreshadowed that he'll be in lock step with the more conservative men in gov't who think they have the right to tell women what's best for their health - based on a religious "moral" belief. Count me as very fearful!

[starrfish]

Oh really? Please, enlighten me.

[francishsu]

Can we put to rest the Scamway claim, please? Amway and Mid-level marketing are obnoxious but they aren

[starrfish]

Sorry, but it's not put to rest to me. Sure they're legal because they actually sell products in addition to an arsenal of tools and seminars. But I find the MLM business model to be very offensive, not just obnoxious. The fact is that the people who actually make decent money as an IBO are able to do so because they recruit a bunch of downlines. And some of Amways/Quixtars recruiting methods are similar to getting people to join a cult.

[suydam]

I'll generally agree that huge amounts of wealth shouldn't be held against people when they run for office, on either side of the aisle.

But I will point out that everyone I've ever known in my entire life who has enormous amounts of wealth really does have trouble relating to "the common man."

Does that mean they cannot lead? Absolutely not, and I refuse to hold wealth against anyone.

Does it mean they have to work harder to convince me they even understand why rising prescription costs are more than a line item on a budget somewhere, or why paying taxes to keep a bus system running and low-income people able to report to jobs is crucial? Absolutely.

[torgo]

Here you go: read all about it.

[francishsu]

Furthermore, if abortion were made illegal, I'm sure there would be exceptions for the health of the mother, rape, incest, and so on.

[francishsu]

...let the games begin!!!

[torgo]

I wonder why you make this assumption? Michigan law on abortion provides no exception for rape and incest, and the health exception is restricted to saving the life of the woman.

[francishsu]

Because that's the only way I think it would pass in a vote.

[starrfish]

I wonder why you make this assumption? Michigan law on abortion provides no exception for rape and incest, and the health exception is restricted to saving the life of the woman.

[GRDadof3]

*shrug* I never claimed that Amway was illegal in the United States. Some people find Amway "obnoxious" and others an affront to society. I tried asking for people's opinions on the Dateline Quixtar story, because I was curious about how other people view that type of business model. But not a single person responded (except for GRdadof3 who said he wasn't a fan of Dateline, so I assume he didn't bother to check out the video link).

[torgo]

can you imagine having to carry a child to term that was fathered by your rapist? Apparently those in gov't who want to overturn Roe v. Wade can and think it should be no big deal mentally/emotionally for a rape/incest victim to have to do this. Can you imagine living with the knowledge that you were the child created out of a violent crime? IMO life is not black and white - this kind of legislation does not take the gray area into consideration.

[Rizzo]

I don't think watching it would make a difference. I'm very familiar with MLM's, and I group Amway with companies like Mary Kay. It is very obnoxious because it is very HEAVILY membership driven. And I have heard the big rallies are a bit strange (almost cultish) with both Amway and Mary Kay, with heavy spiritual overtones. I watched a behind-the-scense documentary about Mary Kay a couple of years ago. Weird.

There is also a heavy push to get people to buy the "tools" and attend seminars. Just like all motivational seminars and books, one could argue they're all scams. The goal is to get you hooked so you need to keep refreshing yourself with new books and seminars. Much like the Zig Ziglar "Get Fired Up" travelling show that was at VAA last year. Now THAT was a scam. What a bunch of garbage that day was.

But hey, maybe we could use those sort of recruiting skills for Michigan right now.

[francishsu]

I appreciate the responses to my MLM/Amway post. And I can respect one's opinion of viewing the business model (and those who perpetrate it) negatively, but not putting that near the top of one's list of issues in determining who to vote for in this election.

[civitas]

Can you imagine living with the knowledge that you were the child created out of a violent crime?

[GRobserver]

Dick DeVos isn't anti-abortion. He is pro-life.

[starrfish]

http://www.cwfa.org/familyvoice/2001-01/14-20.asp

The Elliot Institute found 73 percent of rape victims chose to give birth to their babies. In 1981, Dr. Sandra Mahkorn conducted the only previous major research of pregnant rape victims. Similarly, she found 75 to 85 percent of rape victims chose life....Likewise, children conceived through rape and incest praise their mothers for giving them life.

[civitas]

We could play this game all day!

I'll go with "anti-reproductive rights", your turn.

[AlexPKeaton]

I'm a strong pro-lifer, but I have no illusions that the legality of abortion is going to change anytime soon. Sure, I'll vote for candidates that share my view but I'm not holding my breath. If you want to make a difference a better use of resources would be helping women with unwanted pregnancies to to give birth and raise their children. Donate time or money to your local pregnancy resource center.

-nb

[torgo]

The pro-life motivation is not to rob women of rights but to prevent the death of a baby. The end result is probably the same, but the heart is much different. This is not a man motivated by a desire to control women.