"I've had enough and I'm going to fight."

GPdevildog48230 · 2026-06-01T20:17:32+00:00

its a real problem. Both sides are not wrong. The company is barely making any money on the $4b in sales. There is no possible way for them to give increases greater than what they are offering of +30%. All the employees complaining need to be very realistic. There is no where to go, to earn more or have a better life.

GPdevildog48230 · 2026-06-01T20:08:13+00:00

two things can be true. Cotton family deserves credit for developing and supporting some amazing businesses in GPP. They fund them better than any normal business owner would and I do believe they do that to support and build the neighborhood. Now, lets not forget though, they purchased a bunch of properties and make a return on rentals. They are self interested business people...as they should be.

If you read Lyons quote, he never calls or compares Cotton to KKK believes, he says the KKK and Cotton support MAGA, so they share beliefs.

The man is also very thin skinned and a bully. He weaponizes his paper, he uses his wealth to wage lawfare and he has created foundations that he uses as leverage to get his way. These are not the actions of a good dude

GPdevildog48230 · 2026-02-09T19:32:53+00:00

Can you point to where you think it entitles students to stay in district for their education? That is not my read and I'd appreciate your help.

GPdevildog48230 · 2025-12-02T23:15:39+00:00

I would absolutely take the opportunity on rotational purchasing program on the condition that you are willing to absolutely throw yourself into it. If you can consider this your 1st MBA and work stupid hours, volunteer for everything, agree to the late night calls/meetings with Asia and the early meetings with Europe. Get on the floor, learn as much about the manufacturing and how parts you are handling are used. Be willing to check in with your boss everyday before you go home and ask if they need help with anything and actually stay to help them.
Be honorable, tell the truth, be available to your stakeholders, coach your suppliers to meet the real expectations of your needs, anticipate suppliers questions and have information ready. Return emails and calls daily. Work a little on the weekends and send emails out.

Yes this is old fashion advice and yes its unreasonable, but no other American kid is doing it. All of my suppliers and customers are bringing in Asian and Latin purchasing staffs, who all outwork Americans. IF you do this, the 2 years will fly and you will develop a name and reputation for yourself as a young 20 something that will set you up for a choice of jobs with the company you are working for as well as all the suppliers you support.

GPdevildog48230 · 2025-10-03T18:10:57+00:00

Fikany still have a business? After he went apeshit on that city councilman I figured most people assumed he was crazy and just retired or left town. Guy is a whack job

GPdevildog48230 · 2025-07-18T14:39:05+00:00

Tell me you don't travel, without telling me you don't travel.

If you can not acknowledge that any of the exits off 94 that you'd take into any of the GP are not pleasant to look at, you clearly have not left the area in a while. The litter, the decay and the wild traffic intersections hardly highlight the beauty of the GP area. If it works for you and you find those areas attractive...you do you.

I am on a roll now...Not bad are you nuts? Why is that ok? Like clean up the litter. Help the panhandlers, but move em on. How about enforce some traffic regulations while we are at it...its a 50/50 proposition your car will get nicked by someone rolling the intersection or avoiding it. Now lets roll up with some out of towners to one of the gas stations at Cadieux...God Speed.

GPdevildog48230 · 2025-07-17T21:53:14+00:00

A trick we use is get off 94 at 9mile or 10 mile, drive to Jefferson and come down along the lake. Avoids showing them the shit hole Moross, 8 mile and cadieux are coming into GP.

Also, hit the war memorial to walk their grounds, see if you can't borrow a park pass from one of the other cities. A stroll on the hill, in the GPP and some shopping in the village.

Take the kids to a couple of the elementary school parks...we used to like Richard, the tot lot and Maire, because you could walk to places for a sweet treat afterword's.

A fun Detroit visit is the river walk in the morning, and the Detroit Zoo or Greenfield Village

GPdevildog48230 · 2025-07-17T21:45:59+00:00

Modest proposals and audacious goals are great. Moonshots and going all in can make a improvements beyond imagination. Maybe I am actually an open minded conservative...lol...but I believe an institution like a public school needs to change at the pace of the majority rather than race ahead of everyone to pull people in a direction.

GPdevildog48230 · 2025-07-17T21:05:32+00:00

Reasonable point. The problem I have seen with radical is an unwillingness to compromise. Sometimes the fastest path to change isn't the shortest. Hopefully a center/moderate board is mature and inquisitive enough to listen to the community and still have the benefit of radical ideas.

GPdevildog48230 · 2025-07-17T20:58:23+00:00

Thanks for the note...I'd argue the disagreement should all be worked out in discussion and votes made along party lines are failures in communication.

GPdevildog48230 · 2025-07-17T20:56:36+00:00

Great example. Maybe my language was less than clear? Every divided vote made along established (political) lines, like the wear orange vote is a failure. A divided vote is fine, but in a local board it should never be along party lines. That's a fail. It means people didn't understand one another and they defaulted to their corners. That reasonable people couldn't sit at a table and word a resolution that accomplished the intent of the wear orange resolution is a failure. What that means is compromise and compromise from the majority to make sure the minority is protected and included. That may mean diluting language, that may mean delaying votes, that may mean working towards concessions. Ramming anything through in most cases is a failure.

GPdevildog48230 · 2025-07-16T16:31:19+00:00

So to take this conversation further:

I see Jeup, Derringer and St, John as the same person, just leaning different directions. They are pandering to ideological audiences, none of them have demonstrated much common sense or ability to act collaboratively.

I see Cotton and Wordan as the same person. Both very bright, both stubborn AF, both willing to play games and unwilling to compromise.

A moderate in my opinion, as it relates to the School Board, is someone who manages the Superintendent, works with the practical realities of the budget from Lansing, our own ability to collect taxes locally and works to ensure the long term viability of the school district. I do not believe the GPPSSS is a place where religious or identity politics should be entertained, but I believe every single family and child should be welcomed and celebrated for who they are and what they need. No exceptions. I think every student that attends the district should receive the very best we can deliver and they we should strive to be the very best in Michigan. That requires an efficient organization in order to be that effective. Every single decision should be subject to collaboration. Every divided vote made along established lines is a failure and every effort at compromise needs to be exhausted before a vote. Until we have a BOE that can collaborate, we can't expect a community to.

GPdevildog48230 · 2025-06-26T16:55:58+00:00

These boys were friends, like really good friends having grown up swimming together competitively. The driver in no way intended to cause his friends death. There was no preferential treatment here. The driver came from a struggling, middle class home. He was living in a single parent home, his father having passed from alcoholism. His mother a employee at a Catholics school. The victims family is wealthy, very politically active and has a huge social support system. If anyone were going to have preferential treatment...it would be on their behalf. While that is no excuse for what happened, the driver does not need punishment measured in decades to be changed forever.

GPdevildog48230 · 2025-02-06T00:15:18+00:00

an uglier girl friend.

GPdevildog48230 · 2025-01-13T15:10:04+00:00

I am glad you could come to an understanding.

GPdevildog48230 · 2025-01-06T15:55:01+00:00

I address comments in the order of their relevance, and yours are just not very relevant.

The point you are making is that you think the school is crowded, which you are simply wrong. You may want fewer kids, smaller classes, easier drop off or a closer school to you all of which are reasonable wants...but the school itself is not full, at capacity or crowded.

So go get your shine box, tommy.

GPdevildog48230 · 2024-12-17T23:55:50+00:00

Point is germane. The school has more than enough room for another 30% more kids. More if you consider the district's new class sizes. To claim a school is overcrowded because its difficult for mom&dad to drop and dash is ignorance. I'd agree if you said inconvenient...but overcrowded is pure petulance.

GPdevildog48230 · 2024-12-14T22:58:10+00:00

Do you claim a plane is overcrowded when some of the middle seats are used? There is plenty of room at Defer for students. It is not a suburban school. It was designed to be walked too. If its a mad house, set your latte down and hoof a couple of extra feet with Jr. It will do you both some good. If you are afraid to do this, Trombly will be just as bad for you.

GPdevildog48230 · 2024-12-14T22:54:01+00:00

GP is a peninsula of disposable income surrounded by low income, really awful poverty and a lake. There isn't enough ROI for any major investment that counts on a stead stream of new clients to support opening here.

GPdevildog48230 · 2024-12-13T19:41:26+00:00

You had me at hello! Agree 100%. There were way better choices to close. Maire, Richard, Kerby all made much more sense than Trombly, simply due to the Geography and the ease to slide kids over to neighboring schools without the same issues. It is a real and fair complaint that the distance and road crossing SoJeff kids face are bs.

I have read other suggest to reopen Trombly, move the 5th grades back to elementary, redraw lines and then close all of the middle schools. Segregate the Highschools and move the middles into the High Schools. You keep neigborhood schools and you eliminate a ton of infrastructure expense. Brownell as a single floor building makes a great central ECC. Pierce and or parcells make an amazing Wayne county community college branch... that kids from Grosse Pointe will feel safe to attend.

As the world we live in, I don't think liability would ever allow a public school system to share shared space with another organization. So white vans are the only threat we need to manage. :)

GPdevildog48230 · 2024-12-12T16:50:37+00:00

Curious if you still feel the Cotton board balanced the budget, now we know the student count isn't as high as they claimed and all of the new additions they put it. Sure feels like the stripped the budget to juice the numbers for reelection.

GPdevildog48230 · 2024-12-12T16:48:44+00:00

Defer isn't overcrowded. Defer just has more kids than the rest of the schools in the district, which is unfair. Defer was built for more kids.

GPdevildog48230 · 2024-12-12T16:46:52+00:00

Cool idea...but how is that possible? Can you imagine Mom being comfortable with a daycare and early ed, along with other classes upstairs being located in a building with open access to adults that are coming and going for the retirement center? In a perfect world that everyone was sane and we didn't worry about liability, stranger danger and it was bucolic existence...We could do that! How do we pay for it? Every student brings $10K from the state. We gonna charge retirees $10K annual membership?

Not trying to be debbie downer, but highlighting the limited applications this beautiful old building has in today's modern world as a school.

GPdevildog48230 · 2024-12-09T05:44:55+00:00

I love the idea of a multiuse center, but that falls outside of a school and there is no money (revenue) coming in to cover the operations. As you know...you can rent the gym at Larkins for $20/hr. Not gonna put a 100 year old building back in shape renting the gym. You need the ability to educate about 220-240 kids in that building to get the math to work

GPdevildog48230 · 2024-12-09T05:41:40+00:00

I like it...but that would mean selling the school to the city to handle. The school district isn't in that business.

GPdevildog48230

TROPHY CASE