raoulraoul

Michigan lawmakers didn’t just pass an $83 billion budget early Thursday, they also approved nearly 100 other bills during a marathon 19-hour session before finally breaking for summer recess.

Some of the bigger policy changes, such as opening the Legislature and governor’s office to Freedom of Information Act requests and expanding unemployment benefits to 26 weeks, made immediate headlines.

Read on to learn more about the "Taylor Swift bot ban" and the bill against the ludicrous "Gay Panic Defense."

Anger or hatred is like the fisherman's hook. It is very important for us to ensure that we are not caught by it. -- Gautama Buddha
!detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social

On February 3, 2023, a freight train owned by Norfolk Southern carrying thousands of gallons of toxic chemicals derailed in the town of East Palestine, Ohio.. For days, flames engulfed the rail cars, which contained highly hazardous materials, including vinyl chloride and butyl acrylate, used in the production of plastic. A thick, tall plume of black smoke billowed from the accident site and forced the evacuation of thousands of residents. Now, scientists say that traces of this pollution was found across 16 states, spanning 540,000 square miles from Wisconsin to Maine to South Carolina.

When [David] Gay [National Atmospheric Deposition Program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison] and his colleagues began their research, they expected pollution in western New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. The reality, he said, was much more extensive. A low pressure system helped push pollution over parts of Michigan and Wisconsin. Pollution likely made its way into all the Great Lakes, except Lake Superior, he noted.

Further reading:

• from Grist, "1 year after the toxic train derailment, is East Palestine safe? Depends on whom you ask."

Be vigilant; guard your mind against negative thoughts. -- Gautama Buddha
!detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social

According to the state, a small population of juvenile spotted lanternfly was recently detected in Lambertville [Monroe County]. The U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed the findings last week.

~Adult~ ~spotted~ ~lanternfly.~ ~Photo:~ ~Pennsylvania~ ~Department~ ~of~ ~Agriculture,~ ~bugwood.org~

“The infestation was detected through spotted lanternfly monitoring traps deployed by Michigan State University (MSU), as part of collaborative survey initiatives with MSU, MDARD, and the USDA,” MDARD’s Pesticide and Plant Pest Management Division Director. Steve Carlson said in a statement. “This work is a critical component of our ongoing efforts to identify and limit the spread of spotted lanternfly in Michigan.”

The spotted lanternfly is an invasive plant hopper native to eastern Asia. It was first found in the U.S. in 2014 and spread rapidly.

See it. Squish it. Report it.

According to Michigan.gov's Michigan Invasive Species website…

Spotted lanternfly feeds on more than 70 different plants including grapes, apples, hops and hardwood trees. The insects cause direct damage by sucking sap from host plants and secreting large amounts of a sugar-rich, sticky liquid called honeydew. This honeydew and the resulting black sooty mold can kill plants and foul surfaces. The honeydew often attracts other pests like yellow jackets, flies, and ants, affecting outdoor recreation and complicating crop harvests.

Anger or hatred is like the fisherman's hook. It is very important for us to ensure that we are not caught by it. -- Gautama Buddha
!detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social

Over at !music@midwest.social we've got a sidebar with a "total subscribers" shields.io badge, like many other communities all over the Lemmyverse do. I made a simple, non-badge-related edit to the sidebar and due to what seems an aggressive image proxy, the shields.io badge address gets mangled after the edit is saved.

This is "Community Info" from !music@midwest.social on Jerboa. At the bottom of the screen is the midwest.social/api/v3/image_proxy image.

This is "Community Info" from !detroit@midwest.social on Jerboa, as an example of a working badge. At the bottom the screen is the working shields.io badge.

The pre-save preview shows everything as should be. It's only when the edit is saved does the badge address get mangled.

I contacted our fearless leader, @seahorse@midwest.social, and he changed an image proxy setting. Now !music@midwest.social works as it should. Any further details or information in regards should be asked of him. Thanks.

Workers of The World...Relax!
!detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social

Possibly following in the traditions of Christmas decorations in November and summer Black Friday sales, some municipalities have been celebrating American Independence Day weeks in advance. Much of a super-genius as I am, I never really understood what's the rush. In any case, the linked article from our pals over at BridgeMichigan lists the pyrotechnic spectacles planned and already passed here in the Great State of Talktothehand-and-Belial.

Just to—ehmmm—present the other side of the coin for those who appreciated a pretty explosion, here's Planet Detroit's "Michigan fireworks add to air quality problems".

Screw humans: maybe it is time to consider a different way to celebrate the Fourth of July: from the Humane Society: "Fireworks: An explosion of fear for animals"

Oh, and a premature Happy Canada Day to our friends to the North…uh, and South! You know…the ones with better beer and better health care…

What We Want Now
!detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed legislation on Wednesday — which also was Juneteenth — to celebrate the contributions of Black athletes in the Negro National League. The Detroit Stars was one of the original eight teams represented at the birth of the league in 1920.

May 2 will be known as “Negro Leagues Day” in Michigan, the day in 1920 that its first game was played.

Rep. Helena Scott (D-Detroit) who sponsored the legislation to recognize the league, told a legislative committee in May 2023 that the league and its athletes stood up against racism and pursued greatness. “Without the influence of these exceptional players and the Negro League, Major League Baseball wouldn’t be what it is today, and America wouldn’t be the country that it is today,” Scott said during a state House Governmental Operations Committee hearing last year.

Be vigilant; guard your mind against negative thoughts. -- Gautama Buddha
!detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social

From our friends over at BridgeMichigan, Sneha Dhandapani writes about the spreading idea in the Michigan legislature of a statewide ban on cellphones in school. Some state representatives and school districts don't think that's such a good idea…

While there is currently no bill in the Legislature to implement a statewide ban in Michigan, some individual schools and districts are experimenting with the policy, hoping to improve academics and curb rising levels of anxiety and depression tied to social media.

A study by Central Michigan University surveyed more than 600 students between seventh and 12th grade and found learning increased with a decrease in smartphone use, including at school and during homework. A separate study found that students who did not have cell phones in a classroom had higher levels of course comprehension, lower levels of anxiety and higher levels of mindfulness than those with cell phones.

Whether you're a parent or not, aren't higher comprehension, lower anxiety and higher mindfulness qualities we want in our students?

State Rep. Matt Koleszar, D-Plymouth, a former teacher, said he “would be uncomfortable with a state mandate on (cell phone bans in classrooms) as no two communities are the same.” Koleszar emphasized support for local control and allowing teachers to make their own decisions regarding cell phone use policy.

[Rep. Brad Paquette, R-Niles,] called a potential statewide ban “one of the worst ideas that we could come up with as legislators.” He emphasized that allowing schools and districts to make their own decisions regarding cell phone policy is important because “this is a cultural learning issue where kids are gonna have to learn how to deal with these distractors at some point in their life.”

Ironically enough, Rep Paquette, one of your own proposed exactly this idea in 2022…

In Michigan, then-state Rep. Gary Eisen, R-St. Clair Township, sponsored a 2022 bill that would have required districts to prohibit cell phone use during the school day. The proposal died in committee, however.

One of the weakest excuses I've heard against any cellphone ban is from parents, saying "what if I need to contact my child in case of an emergency?!" Is calling the school not an option?

My life has no purpose, no direction, no aim, no meaning, and yet I'm happy. I can't figure it out. What am I doing right? -- Charles Schulz
!detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social

Following up on !michigan@midwest.social post Tribes urge U.S. to weigh in on Line 5 case as appeal sits in court, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has dragged back kicking and screaming a court case that should have never left the State judicial system…

“This case never should have left state court in the first place, and after this long delay caused by Enbridge’s procedural manipulations, we’re elated to welcome Nessel v. Enbridge back to its rightful judicial venue,” Nessel said in a statement. “The State has an obligation and imperative to protect the Great Lakes from the threat of pollution, especially the devastating catastrophe a potential Line 5 rupture would wreak upon all of Michigan. As we’ve long argued, this is a Michigan case brought under Michigan law that the People of Michigan and its courts should rightly decide.”

~645~ ~miles~ ~from~ ~Superior~ ~to~ ~Sarnia.~ ~Graphic:~ ~Laina~ ~G~ ~Stebbins~

When a coalition of 63 tribal nations from the U.S. and Canada submitted a brief in support of returning the case to state court, David Gover, managing attorney for the Native American Rights Fund said in a statement that a rupture in the pipeline would destroy the right to hunt, fish gather and continue living in land ceded by the Anishinaabe in 1836.

“This is another step towards enforcing the permanent shut down of Line 5. We appreciate Attorney General Nessel’s persistence in the fight to protect our waters from a catastrophic oil spill in the heart of the Great Lakes,” [legislative and political director for the Michigan Sierra Club Christy] McGillivray said. “Michiganders have every right to protect themselves from the most dangerous oil pipeline in America, and Attorney General Nessel is representing the will of the Michiganders she works for. It’s past time Line 5 was shut down once and for all.”

Everything I say is a lie…
!detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social

More insanity that is 21^st^ Century American Life…

[Texas resident Lauren] Miller […] testified Wednesday before a U.S. Senate panel about the struggles she faced after learning in 2022 one of the twins’ brains wasn’t developing correctly and was about half fluid.

The fear was complicated by Texas’ strict restrictions on abortion, which forced Miller to seek out treatment options without her doctors’ assistance.

Miller testified that, thankfully, she had a longtime friend she could trust who was an OB-GYN [in Colorado], who understood the landscape of abortion laws and knew doctors who could help address her diagnosis.

Miller said the best option for her and her family was to have a single fetal reduction, but that was technically an abortion and she couldn’t get it in Texas. […] “We didn’t tell anybody what had happened,” Miller said Wednesday. “We didn’t tell anybody what we had done because we were so scared.”

Between bump stocks, mass shootings and anti-choice proponents, the American Right apparently prefers abortions after birth. Some of our State Representatives think Mrs Miller's plight is wrong as “God doesn’t make mistakes.”

A lot of people don't realize what's really going on. They view life as a bunch of unconnected incidents and things. They don't realize that there's this, like, lattice of coincidence that lays on top of everything.
!detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social

Some days, those who would ~~command~~ ~~govern~~ represent us just make it too easy for, among other things, finding "post fodder."

In the shadow of Michael William Nash's demonstration of his 2^nd^ Amendment rights on Saturday, according to The News…

Twelve Michigan House Republicans have sponsored a bill this month to the name the AR-15 "the official rifle of this state," drawing criticism from opponents who labeled the proposal unserious and inappropriate.

For those who don't know, the AR-15 is a semi-automatic rifle. Bear that in mind when reading the following.

State Rep. Brian BeGole, R-Antrim Township, a former Shiawassee County sheriff, was the primary backer of the AR-15 measure and said in a statement issued Tuesday that thousands of people in Michigan own an AR-15. […] “This distinction recognizes these law-abiding gun owners who are often vilified just for having a firearm as a hobbyist or to keep their homes and families safe," BeGole said.

That's some hobby. Keep their homes and families safe. Safe from the government BeGole has represented most of his life, according to the oft-debated 2^nd^ Amendment.

However, Ryan Bates, director of End Gun Violence Michigan, said BeGole's bill was about "worshiping the rifle that is the preferred weapon of mass shooters." […] Bates noted that on Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a federal ban on bump stocks, a rapid-fire gun accessory that was used in a mass shooting at a music festival Las Vegas in 2017.

"That shooter used 23 AR-style rifles modified with bump stocks to kill 58 people and injure nearly 500 in mere minutes," Bates said. "We now live in a world where any deranged person can turn an AR-style rifle into a machine gun capable of firing 400-800 rounds per minute, a level of firepower that quite simply overwhelms law enforcement."

We all know that rabbit and pheasant can get pretty mean. And who doesn't like their venison pre-ground? To quote my favorite philosopher and thinker, myself…

It’s forever High Noon in this nation of cowboys.

Ah, almost forgot! Use it everyday!

Alt link for your convenience via archive.is

If you can't see the crazy person on the bus, it's you.
!detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social

Some days, those who would ~~command~~ ~~govern~~ represent us just make it too easy for, among other things, finding "post fodder."

In the shadow of Michael William Nash's demonstration of his 2^nd^ Amendment rights on Saturday, according to The News…

Twelve Michigan House Republicans have sponsored a bill this month to the name the AR-15 "the official rifle of this state," drawing criticism from opponents who labeled the proposal unserious and inappropriate.

For those who don't know, the AR-15 is a semi-automatic rifle. Bear that in mind when reading the following.

State Rep. Brian BeGole, R-Antrim Township, a former Shiawassee County sheriff, was the primary backer of the AR-15 measure and said in a statement issued Tuesday that thousands of people in Michigan own an AR-15. […] “This distinction recognizes these law-abiding gun owners who are often vilified just for having a firearm as a hobbyist or to keep their homes and families safe," BeGole said.

That's some hobby. Keep their homes and families safe. Safe from the government BeGole has represented most of his life, according to the oft-debated 2^nd^ Amendment.

However, Ryan Bates, director of End Gun Violence Michigan, said BeGole's bill was about "worshiping the rifle that is the preferred weapon of mass shooters." […] Bates noted that on Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a federal ban on bump stocks, a rapid-fire gun accessory that was used in a mass shooting at a music festival Las Vegas in 2017.

"That shooter used 23 AR-style rifles modified with bump stocks to kill 58 people and injure nearly 500 in mere minutes," Bates said. "We now live in a world where any deranged person can turn an AR-style rifle into a machine gun capable of firing 400-800 rounds per minute, a level of firepower that quite simply overwhelms law enforcement."

We all know that rabbit and pheasant can get pretty mean. And who doesn't like their venison pre-ground? To quote my favorite philosopher and thinker, myself…

It’s forever High Noon in this nation of cowboys.

Ah, almost forgot! Use it everyday!

Alt link for your convenience via archive.is

If you can't see the crazy person on the bus, it's you.
!detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social

From BridgeMichigan's Paula Gardner, having truckloads of cash and no real vision adds up to circa one billion US dollars in hemming, hawing and broken promises…

The spending so far is roughly half of the $2 billion-plus Michigan has pledged since 2022 to five companies: Ford Motor Co., Gotion Inc., LG Energy Solution and Our Next Energy for battery factories, and General Motors Corp. for a battery factory and expanded EV production.

[Gov Gretchen] Whitmer announced the companies would invest $16 billion total and create 12,000 jobs. But all the projects are behind schedule and two have downsized, reducing best-case job expectations by 13%.

And records refute claims from state officials that companies won’t receive money unless they meet hiring goals. “[…]the money hasn’t gone out the door,” Quentin Messer Jr., CEO of the Michigan Economic Development Corp. and a member of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s cabinet, told Bridge in late May.

Bridge used the Freedom of Information Act to obtain records showing that Michigan has already given $51 million in loans and spent at least another $600 million on utility hookups and factory equipment, in addition to the land purchases for two of the five battery megadeals, Ford and Gotion. GM has received at least $468 million of the state’s combined $600 million incentive promise for a battery factory in Delta Township and an expanded EV factory at Orion Assembly in north Oakland County.

Originally expected to open this year, both remain under construction.

GM won’t say when either factory may run at full capacity.

Plunk your magic twanger, Froggy!
!detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social