In case you missed this news report:

Cheboygan County Drain Commissioner Dennis Lennox, Republican candidate for the State House, signed Grover Norquist's Americans for Tax Reform no-tax pledge today while visiting the organization in Washington, D.C.

"Families and businesses across our great state cannot afford another burden on their already cash-strapped pockets," said Lennox, R-Topinabee, who is running for the 105th District seat held by term-limited Minority Leader Kevin Elsenheimer. "Fixing Lansing requires the twenty-first century solutions to our twenty-first century challenges. Raising taxes is never a solution."

This is the second time Lennox has signed the Norquist pledge.

He had signed it in 2008 when he ran for drain commissioner and defeated the two-term Democrat -- making him only one of two Republican challengers to unseat an incumbent last year at the county-wide or higher level in all of Michigan.

I recently returned from a trip to Beirut, Lebanon, where I had meetings with Prime Minister Fouad Siniora; Lebanese Forces leader Dr. Samir Geagea; Cardinal Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir, patriarch of Lebanon's Maronite Church; Bishop Elias Audi, metropolitan for the Greek Orthodox Church archdiocese of Beirut; and other officials.

The trip was organized by the Lebanese Forces and brought together young leaders from center-right political parties in several countries, including Finland, France, Jamaica, Iceland Italy and Sweden. It was an important opportunity to learn about freedom and democracy Lebanon, which is under threat by the Iranian-backed Hezbollah.

I really enjoyed meeting with Dr. Geagea and learning about his epic journey as a political prisoner for 11 years until the Cedar Revolution of 2005.

With Michigan having one of the largest Lebanese populations outside the Middle East, it was important to understand the heritage of this community.

Here is a photography of me speaking to at a Lebanese Forces event:

A photograph with Bishop Elias Audi, metropolitan for the Greek Orthodox Church archdiocese of Beirut.